Nestle to buy majority of Canadian pet food maker- Champion Petfoods, for $2 billion dollars.

Last year Nestle pledged to invest in pet care, bottled water, coffee, and infant nutrition. They already own Purina pet food, and have a licensing deal with Starbucks to market their products globally. Activists have pushed Nestle to move faster in its efforts to strategize their business. Investor Daniel Loeb suggests that Nestle split into three sectors: beverages, nutrition, and groceries. Loeb owns 1.25% of Nestle – roughly $3 billion dollars. He urges them to reinvent themselves and reposition the company to be more organized and capitalize on opportunities that they are missing. He suggests divesting less profitable brands. His claims prove that Nestle is not focused on their stakeholders wellbeing.

Champion Petfoods is one of the highest quality pet foods on the market and made with fresh nourishing ingredients. The food is harvested locally in Canada and the company is authentic with its consumers. While nestle has pledged to invest more in pet food, it is primarily known for its cookies, candy, and unhealthy frozen meals.  This makes me wonder why Nestle is putting our pet’s health over our own? They invest in the highest quality pet food, but continue to support brands that are terrible for us—such as Tollhouse cookies, KitKat and Butterfinger candy bars, and Stouffer’s frozen dinners. More people are getting sick now than ever between the high calorie foods and plethora of chemicals in the foods that we eat. I think Nestle should be focusing on OUR health, not just our pets!

Big businesses need to keep their stakeholders and consumers in mind when making decisions. While our and our pet’s health are both important, Nestle should be focusing on both not just one. By ignoring our need for more nutritious and authentic food, Nestle is sending the consumers a clear message about their commitment to our health (or lack thereof). Why are we ignoring this message? I think that this is inexcusable on Nestle’s part. I am just surprised that only one major investor is vocal about Nestle’s need to reinvent and reposition, as it is so important.  At the end of the day, it’s all about the MONEY, not the QUALITY of the products you sell. They really should reverent themselves to care about their consumer’s health and not just their pocketbook. Unfortunately, the public is not educated on healthy eating so they continue to support such low quality products that are loaded with fat, sugar, and chemicals.  The food industry will NEVER change. Unless the consumer changes and finally decides to demand QUALITY over JUNK!