Aida Piña
Mr. Skipper
Encounters 7
March 4, 2022
Henri’s Secret Formula to Success
Introduction
Many people believe that Henri Nestlé created the chocolate milk powder “Nesquik” or the chocolate bar “Crunch”. The truth is that Henri Nestlé didn’t create all the famous food products the company is known for. Henri Nestle started his business when he created a milked food designed for babies “experimenting with various recipes for baby food to help mothers who were unable to breastfeed, and eventually came up with a concoction he called farine lactée” (Henri Nestlé History). His company gained a lot of popularity after his food helped a baby survive after the mother of the child was sick and was unable to feed the baby. Nestle the company, later created the famous chocolate milk powder “Nesquik” and various food products. Henri Nestlé is a man who tried to make a better place by helping babies survive with his food product called Farine Lactée. Henri Nestlé helped babies survive and that led him to be a successful man.
Early Life
Henri Nestlé was born on the day of August 10, 1814, in Frankfurt, Germany (Lando). Henri comes from a family that consists of sixteen people including his parents. He was the eleventh of fourteen children of Matthias Nestle and Anna Maria Catharina Ehemann. Henri would, later on, inherit the tradition of the glassmaking business from his father who had inherited the glass making from his father as well (Lando). Henri married Anna Clémentine Thérèse Ehemant in May 1830 when he was 16 years old. When Henri was seventeen years old he worked as an apprentice and learned to concoct medicine and before he turned the age of twenty-two, he had already completed a four-year apprenticeship with J. E. Stein the owner of the pharmacy he was working at (Lando). Although Nestlé and his wife were childless, they were aware of the high death rate among infants and babies (Henri Nestlé Founder). Henri was aware that there was a high death rate among infants and later decided to start his business when he created a formula called Farine Lactee that would help many infants and babies survive until their bodies have a strong immune system and can eat other foods.
Beginning of Career
“Henri Nestle and his wife were childless, but they were aware of the high death rate among infants”(Henri Nestlé, Founder of Nestle). Henri had before worked as an apprentice in a pharmacy. He used the knowledge he learned while working in the pharmacy and decided to help, he created a formula that would help infants. “Nestlé combined cow’s milk with grain and sugar to produce a substitute for breast milk” (Henri Nestlé, Founder of Nestle). The formula was called Farine Lactee. It is a milk formula that helps many infants survive. Nestle formula became famous when it helped a sick infant survive. The formula he created was helping many infants and that helped him and his store to become popular in the business of food products. Henri Nestle wanted to help decrease the number of deaths between infants. By wanting to help he created what now is known as one of the most popular and largest food companies in the world. To achieve this he had worked as a glassmaker and then proceeded to be an apprentice at a pharmacy for four years. After he finished his four years of studying in the pharmacy he was able to make the formula that will later lead him to success.
Significant Accomplishments
Almost everyone knows the company, Nestlé, after it was sold by the founder Henri Nestlé. “In 1874 he sold his company for a million francs” (Henri Nestlé History). The amount he sold his company is now worth 8.53 million dollars. The company started expanding after it was sold. The company Nestlé had created the chocolate powder called “Nesquik”, and later created the famous “Crunch” bar, coffee, and a variety of other food products. Today the company Nestlé “is the world’s largest manufacturer of foods and beverages with almost 500 factories spread all over the world. It is the leading producer of milk products, chocolates, infant food, and coffee” (Lando).
The company started to create and introduce new companies that would later turn out to be successful. “The Nestle company introduced factory-based production of various kinds of food in many countries, purchasing the Viking Melk (milk) company in Norway in 1898, and the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co.” (Henri (Heinrich)) The company expanded its business all over the world. “By 1914 the company also had factories in Germany, Spain, and the United States.” (Henri (Heinrich)) The Nestlé company also created the first-ever instant coffee. “Benefiting from massive surpluses of coffee beans in the 1930s, Nestlé launched the world’s first instant coffee – Nescafé – in 1938” (Henri Nestlé History).
However, the company has been having trouble with its original formula. “Nestlé has been riding a storm of anger in recent years from children’s organizations and health watchdogs in both the developed and the developing world.” (Henri Nestlé History) There have been boycotts and they will continue until Nestlé educates mothers that are living in developing countries to breastfeed their children when possible and to use the baby formula when it is needed. “Many of these groups continue to lobby for boycotts of Nestlé products unless the company takes a role in helping educate mothers in developing-world countries to breastfeed whenever possible and to buy formula only as a last resort.” (Henri Nestlé History). The ads that Nestlé places around the world were to inform mothers there is a formula that works as a replacement for breastfeeding. The protestants didn’t agree with Nestlé by saying that they should inform mothers what is in the formula and how they can feed their children.
Impact on the World
When Henri Nestlé created the lactée formula that led him to many things that would later impact America and the rest of the world. “He developed a milk-based baby food that became very popular for mothers who were unable to breastfeed their children”(Lando). After he became successful in America he started to sell in other countries. “People quickly recognized the value of the new product and soon Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé (Henri Nestlé's Milk Flour in French) was being sold in much of Europe”(Henri Nestlé, Founder of Nestle). His formula is now used all over the world helping mothers feed their children.
The company Nestle created many food products that help the company grow more and more. The company had also bought other companies to expand themselves through the world. “By the mid-1960s, Nestlé was Switzerland‘s biggest company, a huge multinational incorporating over 200 factories around the world, with global management still based in Vevey” (Henri Nestlé History). The Nestle company was and still is one of the world's biggest companies. One of the products that the Nestle company made was the first-ever instant coffee. “Benefiting from massive surpluses of coffee beans in the 1930s, Nestlé launched the world’s first instant coffee – Nescafé – in 1938” (Henri Nestlé History). The industry changed after the first instant coffee was made. New companies started to rise by selling instant coffee. Nestle created many different kinds of food products, and that led to many industries to change.
Conclusion
Henri Nestlé was a man who helped many infants survive. He invented a formula that would help many children because he cared that there were a high number of children who were dying. “Although Nestlé and his wife were childless, they were aware of the high death rate among infants” (Henri Nestlé, Founder of Nestle). He created something that would help many kids even though he didn’t have kids.
Unfortunately, Henri Nestlé died in Glion on 7 July 1890 he was 75 years old when he passed away. He was buried at Territet Cemetery in Montreux. Even though he died he left something on this world that people will always remember and that is his formula and most importantly his company. If you go buy food products at any store, it is more likely that one of those products comes from the company. Henri Nestlé left a mark in the world when he decided to help out children in need.
Henri was a hard-working man who expanded his business and his company. He created what today is one of the most successful companies. He helped many families with sick children, and now his company provides a paying job to thousands of people.
Works Cited
“Henri (Heinrich) Nestlé (1814–90).” European Route of Industrial Heritage, www.erih.net/how-it-started/stories-about-people-biographies/biography/nestle. Accessed 18 Nov. 2021.
“Henri Nestlé, Founder of Nestle.” Timeline Index, www.timelineindex.com/content/view/4111. Accessed 5 Nov 2021.
“Henri Nestlé History Biography Nestle Vevey Switzerland Information.” Switzerland is Yours, switzerlandisyours.com/E/guide/lake_geneva/nestle.html. Accessed 17 Nov. 2021.
Lando, Roy. “The Life of Henri Nestle: Founder of Nestle S. A. - Peoplaid Biography.” PeoPlaid, 10 Aug. 2020, peoplaid.com/2020/08/10/henri-nestle/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.