• Los Angeles Times/Financial Times, Tuesday, September 5, 2006 12:15 PM

Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe has committed the world's biggest foods group to increasing sales by 5 percent to 6 percent a year, excluding acquisitions. In a marketplace that's only expanding by 1.5 percent annually, he determined that developing healthier products and adding health-oriented services is the best way to boost growth. Nutrition has been upgraded to full divisional status, putting it on a par with mineral waters and Nestle's other divisions, which are defined by geography, not products. In Germany, Nestle has started a "nutritional institute" to advise people on dietary issues. In France, the company runs a nutritional home-care service, providing doctors and nurses for patients with special dietary needs after surgery or chemotherapy. And in the U.S., it purchased Jenny Craig, the weight management and food-products company, for $600 million.

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