Swiss Food Giant Nestlé Will Invest R$1 Billion in Brazil Over Next Three Years

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Reuters) Lake Geneva-based food giant Nestlé said on Wednesday that it would invest R$1 billion (US$250 million) in Brazil’s São Paulo state over the next three years to introduce new product lines and technologies in existing factories, as well as push forward a digital transformation.

The announcement comes as the São Paulo Governor João Dória strives to draw investments to the state and boost industrial jobs in Brazil’s historic manufacturing center.

On August 9th, he unveiled during a trip to China that Huawei Technologies Co Ltd would invest US$800 million to build a second plant in São Paulo.

“São Paulo state is greatly important to our story, as it hosted our very first factory (in Brazil),” chief executive for Nestlé Brasil, Marcelo Melchior, said in a statement.

Nestlé, the world’s largest food producer, employs 12,000 people directly and, the company said, more than 100,000 indirectly in São Paulo only.

Over the last five years, its Brazilian subsidiary invested R$2 billion in the state, according to the statement.

(Source: Reuters)