Nestle in talks to sell remaining in-house ice cream business
- By Reuters -
- Feb 20, 2026
LONDON, Feb 19: Nestle said on Thursday it was in talks to sell its remaining in-house ice cream business, adding to planned disposals of water and vitamin assets as CEO Philipp Navratil pushes to streamline the sprawling Swiss consumer food giant.
Nestle had already handed the reins of its European and U.S. ice cream units to Haagen-Dazs owner Froneri, a joint venture it established with European buyout firm PAI Partners in 2016.
It is now in advanced talks to sell ice cream businesses with around 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.3 billion) in annual sales in Canada, Chile, Peru, Malaysia, China and Thailand to Froneri, including brands KitKat ice cream and Coffee Crisp.
“There are times when we decide that focusing means exiting businesses,” Navratil said, adding that the ice cream business is “strong, but small, and it’s a distraction for us”.
The announcement follows Unilever’s spinoff of rival Magnum Ice Cream last year.
Nestle, shares of which were 4.1% higher by 1524 GMT, said it has no plans to exit the Froneri joint venture, valued at some 15 billion euros ($18 billion) in October, including debt, and in which the Swiss group owns a 50% stake.
SHEDDING ICE CREAM, WATER, VITAMIN ASSETS
The maker of Maggi stock cubes and Nescafe coffee plans to focus on its coffee, petcare, nutrition and food and snacks units. It reported better than expected fourth-quarter sales growth.
“The company is giving thought to the right things,” said Kai Lehmann, senior research analyst at Nestle investor Flossbach von Storch.
Navratil, who took over in September and announced plans to cut 16,000 jobs shortly afterwards, has been trying to raise volume growth while battling U.S. import tariffs and a stronger Swiss franc.
Nestle said it had concluded its strategic review of underperforming vitamin and supplement brands and was engaging potential buyers. It also expects to deconsolidate its waters business from 2027.
Analysts have suggested that U.S. frozen foods could be another division for the chop, but Navratil said that remained part of the portfolio as a profitable, cash-generative asset.
Nestle has a lot on its plate and needs to “get on with” the water and vitamin exits, said Barclays analysts in a note: “Trying to turn around the supertanker in a super fast-moving consumer goods space will be no small feat, so flawless execution is required.”
CEO ‘UNHAPPY’ WITH GERBER BRAND
Navratil’s efforts to overhaul Nestle have been overshadowed by the biggest infant formula recall in the company’s recent history.
CFO Anna Manz said the broader consumer impact of the recalls was uncertain but estimated the one-off sales impact from customer returns and stock shortages at around 200 million Swiss francs and a 20-basis-point hit on 2026 volumes.
Navratil said Nestle’s handling of the recalls had earned trust and should shield the company from long-term reputational harm. But he did single out infant formula brand Gerber, not impacted by recalls, calling it a drag on market share.
“I’m unhappy with Gerber still,” Navratil said. “I’m not infinitely patient, but we have to give it a try to drive growth in this category.”
Nestle’s fourth-quarter organic sales came in above expectations with 4% growth, led by price increases of 2.8% and real internal growth (RIG) – or sales volumes growth – of 1.3%, which outperformed expectations for a 0.9% increase.
Nestle’s full-year organic sales growth forecast of 3-4% bakes in the infant formula recalls impact. It expects an improvement on its 16.1% margin in 2026 and RIG to come in above last year’s 0.8%.
($1 = 0.8473 euros)