Chocolate Fortunes, Chapter 5: Nestle, China’s Chocolate War Sideshow

Chapter 5 delves into the psyche of not only one of the worldÆs first chocolate companies, but also one of its largest food and beverage companies. With chocolate being one of NestleÆs smallest businesses worldwide, chocolate ranked low on NestleÆs sequence of priorities in China, resulting in its chocolate business taking a back seat to its higher-priority coffee and nutrition businesses. The impact on NestleÆs chocolate business was profound. Readers peer into the Beijing boardroom of NestleÆs China subsidiary, the inner sanctum for decision-making which led to the companyÆs low-price, lower-grade chocolate approach toward the market: a strategy that did not resonate with consumers who were demanding first-grade products. Consequently, Nestle, the largest company of all the main players, remains one of the smallest players in ChinaÆs chocolate market.