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Henri Nestlé, born Heinrich Nestlé (10 August, 1814 - 7 July, 1890), was the founder of Nestlé S.A., the world's biggest food and beverage company.
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Early life
Birth
Henri Nestlé was born on 10 August, 1814, in Frankfurt, Germany. He was the eleventh of fourteen children of Johann Ulrich Matthias Nestlé and Anna-Maria Catharina Ehemann. Henri Nestlé's father by tradition inherited the business of his father Johann Ulrich Nestlé and became a glazier in Töngesgasse.
Name change from Heinrich Nestlé to Henri Nestlé
Before Nestlé turned 20 in 1834, he had completed a 4-year apprenticeship with J. E. Stein, an owner of a pharmacy. At the end of 1839, he was officially authorized to perform chemical experiments, make up prescriptions, and sell medicines. During this time, he changed his name to Henri Nestlé in order to adapt better to the new social conditions in Vevey, Switzerland.
Early career
In 1843, Henri Nestlé bought one of the most progressive and versatile in the region at that time - production of rapeseeds, nut oils used to fuel oil lamps, liqueurs, rum, absinth, vinegar. He began manufacturing and selling still and carbonated mineral water and lemonade. During the crisis years from 1845 to 1847, Henri Nestlé gave up the mineral water production. In 1857, he began to concentrate on gas lighting and fertilizers.
Marriage
Henri Nestlé and Anna Clementine Therese Ehemant were married on 23 May, 1860 in Frankfurt.
Nestlé S.A. Career
Founding
It is impossible to say when Henri Nestlé started working on the infant cereal project. His interest is known to be spurred by several factors:
- The high infant death rate in his family. Half of the 14 children died before reaching adulthood.
- His background as a pharmacist’s assistant.
- His wife who knew all about infant mortality being a daughter of a charity doctor.
Henri Nestlé combine cow’s milk with wheat flour and sugar to produce a substitute of mother’s milk for those children who could not accept breast-feeding. Moreover, Henri Nestlé and Jean Balthasar Schnetzler, his friend and a scientist in human nutrition, removed the acid and the starch in wheat flour because they were difficult for babies to digest. People quickly recognized the value of the new product, and soon, Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé (Henri Nestlé's Milk Flour in French) was being sold in much of Europe.
Buyout
It is not easy to give a simple, definite reason for Henri Nestlé’s decision to sell his company but at the end of 1874 that was a fact.
Retirement
Henri Nestlé and his wife moved into the residence, which later became known as Villa Nestlé. They kept on helping people with small loans and went on with improving local infrastructure via public donations.
Death
Henri Nestlé-Ehmant died on 7 July, 1890.
External links
Henri Nestlé history biography (http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/guide/lake_geneva/nestle.html)
Nestlé history (http://www.nestle.com/All_About/History/)Nestlé, Henri Nestlé, Henri zh:亨利·雀巢