How Halifax plays key role in developing Nestlé's global empire

Stefano Agostini, Nestlé UK and Ireland’s CEO, said the move was part of the company’s ‘Always Open For You’ initiative and builds on its previously announced support for the hospitality industry, which has included extending credit terms and rental pauses for those customers most at risk.

He also stressed the key role the group’s Yorkshire operations played in manufacturing the company’s famous brands and acting as a centre for global research.

Nestlé employs 2,000 people in York, which makes KitKat, Yorkie, Aero, Milkybar and Polo, and 570 in Halifax, which is home to Quality Street and also makes seasonal items such as Easter eggs.

Speaking during a conference call with the regional press, Mr Agostini said: “Yorkshire is a strategic area for us, where we have a strong legacy and have made important investment.”

When asked about his plans to invest in the region, he said: “It is difficult to tell in terms of employment - it depends on a range of factors including technology, productivity and Brexit.

“In York we not only have a factory, we have an office and a centre for worldwide research and development, while Halifax is home to our iconic Quality Street brand.

“Both sites are part of our heritage and very important to us. Technology and automation will be important for our long term competitiveness.”

During the briefing, Mr Agostini said companies like Nestlé will need to take action to support a strong recovery from COVID-19.

“One area that we are particularly concerned about is around access to food and people going hungry. Particularly those families with children during these school holidays,’’ he added.

The company has announced a £1 million investment to support Community Shop in the UK and Food Cloud in Ireland, which are organisations that help to ensure surplus food is not wasted.

He added: “This money will help 8,000 families this summer on behalf of our 8,000 employees. At our half year results last week we demonstrated that Nestlé has performed well given the rapidly changing environment we have been dealing with in 2020.

“There was solid organic growth of 2.8 per cent and this was driven by strong demand for products and brands that people can enjoy at home like coffee, food and dairy. Purina, our pet care business, also performed very well through the first six months of the year.

“In April we completed the acquisition of Lily’s Kitchen, a natural pet food brand based in the UK and present across 30 different countries.

“The completion of that deal is an example of how we have continued to adapt and strengthen our business even with the challenges created by COVID-19.”

The company aims to make all its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

He added: “Another milestone we achieved during lockdown was to make our Smarties Block, in York, with paper packaging.”

Nestlé has also supported 170 apprentices through its virtual training programmes during the lockdown.

Climate change remains the biggest long term challenge facing the food and beverage sector, according to Stefano Agostini, Nestlé UK and Ireland’s CEO

He told The Yorkshire Post: “To transform big organisations like us is not easy, but it is feasible.”

He added: “The topic of climate change has been talked about much less in 2020 but that doesn’t mean it has gone away.

“We need to continue working hard on our targets so that Nestlé is part of a green recovery. During the lockdown, we were able to bring online a second UK wind farm to power our sites in the UK and Ireland.”