Nestlé on Wednesday raised its growth outlook after sales for the first nine months of the year were buoyed by coffee, vegan foods and price increases.

The Swiss maker of everything from chocolate to pet food and infant formula said it was able to weather the double whammy of inflation and supply chain disruptions, which are putting pressure on world economy’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Sales rose by a better-than-expected 2.2 per cent to 63.3 billion Swiss francs (€58.8 billion) in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2020.

Investors look closely at Nestlé’s organic growth, which excludes the impact of recent acquisitions or divestments to focus on a company’s core operations. The company said organic growth reached 7.6 per cent in the January-to-September period. It raised its full-year organic sales forecast to six to seven per cent, up from five to six per cent.

“The relentless focus of our teams on local execution and agility enabled us to navigate input cost inflation and supply chain constraints,” Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider said in a statement. “In the third quarter, we increased pricing in a responsible manner, while maintaining strong real internal growth,” he added.

In the third quarter, we increased pricing in a responsible manner, while maintaining strong real internal growth- Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider

Nestlé said the largest contributor to organic growth was coffee, fuelled by “strong momentum for the three main brands Nescafe, Nespresso and  Starbucks”.

The company reported double-digit growth in vegetarian and plant-based foods – products that Nestlé has been expanding. Its Purina PetCare brand and another area of growing investment – vitamins and supplements – also increased by double digits.