NESTLE INFANT

FORMULA SCANDAL

“GOOD FOOD, GOOD LIFE”

 OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY

• Nestlé is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate

corporation.
• Headquarters in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland
• Established in 1866 when Henri Nestle developed an infant food formula.
• One of the first infant food producers
• Serves worldwide: operations in over 100 countries
• Over 2000 brands
• Products:
 Baby foods
 Bottled water
 Cereals
 Chocolates
 Drinks
 Dairy products
 Ice cream etc.
 MISSION STATEMENT

“Nestlé is the world's leading nutrition, health and wellness

company. Our mission of "Good Food, Good Life" is to provide
consumers with the best tasting, most nutritious choices in a
wide range of food and beverage categories and eating
occasions, from morning to night.”
 UNETHICAL PRACTICE

• Nestle boycott in 1977.

• During 1970s, Nestle started marketing their infant food formula in third
world countries.
• Charged with involvement in the death of Third world infants.
• The infant feeding formula allegedly is the cause of mass deaths of the
infants.
• Aggressive marketing strategies to earn profits only.
• Unethical practices:
 False advertising
 Aggressive marketing
 Took advantage of socially and cognitively vulnerable state of uneducated mothers.
 MARKETING STRATEGIES
• Nestle saleswomen dressed as nurses to persuade mothers to use
formula milk.

• Distributing free samples.

• Advertising their product on television, radio, magazines and billboard

etc.

FALSE ADVERTISING

They suggest that mother's start weaning their

baby off of breast milk at six months claiming that it
can make the baby anemic if not done.
 WHAT ACTUALLY WAS
UNETHICAL?
• Convincing people that the product was
indispensable.

• Advertising to the extent of persuasion.

• Taking advantage of socially and cognitively

vulnerable state of uneducated mothers.
Mothers in third world countries were not
aware/educated enough about the product and
thus, cognitively vulnerable. Moreover, the
mother in such poor countries wanted to move
towards westernization by giving their infants
formula milk and were socially vulnerable.
 NESTLE'S DEFENSE
• Nestle, in defense, explained that the root cause for infant malnutrition
and mortality in third world countries were poverty, lack of food ,
ignorance and poor sanitation.
• According to Nestle, they agree that there’s no better or equal substitute
of breast milk. They were simply offering an alternative for those mothers
that can’t provide adequate nutrition.

RESOLUTION
• The advertising and distribution of formula milk was banned in third
world countries.
• Nestle started educating consumers about the use of the product.
• WHO got involved ( adopted articles of WHO as Nestlé's policy )
 WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE TO
AVOID THESE UNETHICAL PRACTICES?

• Starting a women educational based program rather than a hard sale

tactic.

• Give out free services to teach the new markets on how to use the
products, instead of free samples.

• According to the Due care theory, they were the saviors. They should
have provided a complete information about the ingredient used in their
product.

• They should have studied the social and medical impacts of their product
before introducing it in such countries.
THE END