Nestlé puts American candy division up for sale

Swiss food group Nestlé is looking at several strategic options for its American candy division, including a possible sale. It should reach a decision by the end of the year.

3 % of its American turnover

Nestlé’s American candy division contains candy bars Butterfiner, Baby Ruth, Raisinets, 100 Grand and SkinnyCow and Crunch’s chocolate products. Aside from these, it also has a range of regional brands, which generated about 900 million Swiss francs (about 827 million euro). This is 3 % of the Swiss group’s American turnover, which was 26.7 billion francs (24.5 billion euro).

Its growth brand, Toll House, will not be included in any possible deal.

8 billion euro turnover from candy

Its non-American candy brands, like KitKat, will also be excluded from any possible arrangement. The Swiss company’s global candy sales in 2016 reached 8.8 billion francs (8.1 billion euro).

Nestlé emphasizes it wants to maintain its position in the American market, where it is market leader for animal food, bottled water, frozen food and ice cream for instance.