Swiss food giant Nestlé said on Thursday that strong coffee sales helped raise overall turnover by 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year. Global sales rose to 21.1 billion Swiss francs (€19.1 billion), an earnings statement said.

Nestlé’s measure of so-called organic growth, which strips out effects from acquisitions, divestments and foreign exchange movements, jumped by 7.7 per cent in the first three months of 2021, as the group increased its share of growing markets, the statement added.

But the Swiss franc’s strength against other major currencies meant that once global sales were converted, the overall figure was reduced by 5.3 per cent, while various divestments trimmed an additional 1.0 per cent, the statement said.

Nestlé is transforming its portfolio of brands and has begun to increase its offer of vegetarian products to accompany a global trend, for example. And while “coffee was the largest contributor to growth” owing to strong demand for its Nespresso, Nestlé and Starbucks brands, dairy products and pet food also contributed to the increase in organic growth. “Vegetarian and plant-based food offerings continued to see strong double-digit growth” as well, the group noted.

Vegetarian and plant-based food offerings continued to see strong double-digit growth

Nestlé has benefited from the coronavirus pandemic in that demand via supermarkets remained strong, but sales to restaurants and other food outlets suffered in 2020. In the first months of this year, “retail sales saw solid growth and out-of-home channels saw signs of improvement,” Nestlé chief executive Mark Schneider said in the company statement.

The group confirmed its 2021 full-year forecast for “sustained mid-single-digit organic growth”, which suggests something on the order of five per cent.