Nestle SA

Nestlé SA <NESN.S>, one of the world's largest food processors, believes population growth will require human diets to adapt, reducing consumption of sugar, salt and meat products, an executive said on Wednesday.

Global consumer goods companies have been banking on emerging markets to drive their growth, so signs on Thursday that sales have come off the boil in the once-booming economies of China and India could set alarm bells ringing.

Food group Nestle plans to return up to 20 billion Swiss francs ($20.13 billion) to shareholders over the next three years and reorganise its struggling waters business after organic sales growth slowed in the third quarter.

A slowdown in India and China put a brake on Unilever's <ULVR.L> quarterly sales growth, highlighting the challenges facing Chief Executive Alan Jope as he tries to boost the consumer goods giant's business in emerging markets.

Food group Nestle announced a new share buyback programme of up to 20 billion Swiss francs ($20.13 billion) and changes to its waters business on Thursday after organic sales growth slowed slightly to 3.7% in the third quarter, from 3.9% in the previous quarter.

The world's two largest consumer goods companies, Nestle SA <NESN.S> and Procter & Gamble Co <PG.N>, have acknowledged they will fall short of goals to use only those ingredients that do not contribute to deforestation in their products by 2020.

Food giant Nestle <NESN.S> launched its "Awesome" vegan burgers in the United States on Thursday, seeking to tap into the country's growing craze for plant-based meat.

Nestle's <NESN.S> infant nutrition business in China grew at a healthy pace, despite a steep fall in birth rates and an overall slowdown in consumption, the company's chief financial officer said at a conference on Wednesday.

Nestle has set up a research institute to develop more environmentally friendly packaging for its products and reduce plastic waste, taking matters into its own hands rather than relying on its suppliers.

Nestle <NESN.S> is taking a cautious approach to growth-driving acquisitions, finance chief Francois-Xavier Roger told a financial conference on Tuesday, putting the expected volume for portfolio adjustments this year at around 12 billion Swiss francs ($12.3 billion).

Nestle SA said on Wednesday it will invest 1 billion reais (about $250 million) in Brazil's Sao Paulo state over the next three years to introduce new production lines and technologies in existing factories, as well as push forward a digital transformation.

Food giant Nestle on Thursday started selling Starbucks-branded coffee in mainland China, seeking to tap growth in a market where it says coffee consumption per capita remains low compared to global standards.

Food giant Nestle said strong demand for its products in the United States and Brazil helped the KitKat chocolate bar maker post its fastest sales growth in three years during the second quarter.

Food giant Nestle said strong demand for its products in the United States and Brazil helped the KitKat chocolate bar maker accelerate sales growth during the first six months of 2019.

- Note: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy

Global food giant Nestle SA has developed new paper packaging for its YES! snack bars, a technology it hopes to scale up and extend to other confectionery products as it tries to make all its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

(Deletes erroneous reference to talks with McDonald's in fifth paragraph, amends headline)

Nestle sees only a "very limited effect" on its British business from the country's departure from the European Union, the Swiss food giant's European head Marco Settembri said on Tuesday.

Nestle remains committed to confectionery despite unloading its U.S. chocolate operations during a review of the food giant's operations, Chief Executive Mark Schneider told an event in Switzerland on Friday.