Nestlé raises marketing investments as it pivots to social-first brand building

Global food and beverage major Nestlé significantly increased its advertising and marketing investments in 2025 as it sought to revive consumer demand, accelerate volume-led growth and sharpen its competitive position across categories ranging from coffee and confectionery to nutrition and pet care.

According to the company's 2025 Annual Review, Nestlé raised advertising and marketing expenditure to 8.6% of sales, an increase of 50 basis points year-on-year, despite facing rising commodity costs and margin pressures.

The increase in brand spending came as the maker of Nescafé, KitKat and Purina pursued a strategy centered on what it calls "RIG-led growth" — or real internal growth — with an emphasis on generating higher volumes rather than relying solely on price hikes.

"Marketing and administration expenses as a percentage of sales increased by 20 basis points to 20%. This was driven by an increase in advertising and marketing expenses as a percentage of sales, up 50 basis points to 8.6% as we stepped up growth investments," Nestlé said in its annual review.

The aggressive push behind brands comes even as Nestlé's profitability came under pressure. The company's underlying trading operating profit margin fell 100 basis points to 16.1%, with management attributing the decline partly to elevated advertising and marketing expenditure.

Nestlé reported CHF 89.5 billion in sales for 2025, while organic growth stood at 3.5%, supported by a 0.8% rise in real internal growth. The company said growth investments helped accelerate RIG from 0.2% in the first half of 2025 to 1.4% in the second half of the year.

Social-first media strategy

A key element of Nestlé's growth playbook has been a major transformation of its marketing model, shifting toward digital-first and social-led communications.

The company said it is redesigning its marketing operations to better suit an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

"We are transforming our marketing operating model to reach consumers in a digital, social-first media landscape," Nestlé said, adding that it plans to scale content studios while deploying data, analytics and return-on-investment tools to improve campaign effectiveness.

Nestlé has also launched an internal initiative called "Brand Building the Nestlé Way", aimed at strengthening marketing capabilities across markets and categories.

The framework focuses on four pillars: Unrivalled Superiority, Unbeatable Value, Unmissable Visibility and Unforgettable Communications, with the latter emphasising creative assets and "high-impact media" investments.

Formula 1, influencers and celebrities

The annual report highlights a significant shift towards cultural marketing and creator partnerships.

Among its biggest moves was making KitKat the Official Chocolate Bar of Formula 1, which Nestlé described as its largest-ever global partnership.

The company said the collaboration provides access to Formula 1's fan base of over 825 million people, more than 40% of whom are women, across key markets.

"The multi-year collaboration will strengthen KitKat's iconic status and further accelerate its growth by attracting new shoppers and increasing sales," Nestlé noted.

The campaign spans social media, race-day activations, in-store promotions, limited-edition products and creator collaborations.

Nestlé has simultaneously expanded its use of influencer marketing.

For the rollout of Nescafé Espresso Concentrate, the company partnered with Zach King, one of TikTok's largest creators with a global audience exceeding 185 million followers, to target younger consumers entering the coffee category.

Meanwhile, premium coffee brand Nespresso teamed up with musician Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye through the Samra Origins campaign, which expanded to 25 markets in 2025. The initiative included experiential activations, contests and tour sponsorships designed to improve visibility among younger audiences.

AI enters the marketing mix

Beyond media investments, Nestlé is increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to improve marketing productivity and effectiveness.

The company said it has deployed advanced marketing mix modelling to consistently measure return on investment and optimise both short-term sales generation and long-term brand building.

Nestlé has also launched an AI-powered service using digital twins to create product visuals for e-commerce platforms and marketing assets.

According to the company, the technology enables marketing teams to generate creative content "faster, more economically and at scale."

Bigger bets on fewer brands

Nestlé's advertising strategy is becoming more focused, with management prioritising investments behind its strongest brands and highest-potential growth platforms.

The company said it intends to expand the contribution of these strategic platforms from 10% of sales to 30% of sales, supporting them through larger marketing allocations and innovation pipelines.

"We focus our marketing investment on our strategic global and local brands, and on category-growing innovation that drives the growth of our strategic platforms," the company said.

Chief Executive Officer Philipp Navratil also underscored the central role of marketing in Nestlé's turnaround efforts.

"By coupling such great innovations with outstanding marketing and expanding them across our global brands, we aim to achieve the scale and growth that will keep us at the forefront of our industry," he said in the annual review.

The renewed emphasis on advertising underscores how large consumer goods companies are increasingly viewing marketing not as a discretionary expense, but as a strategic investment aimed at protecting market share, driving consumption and reconnecting with younger consumers in an increasingly digital media environment.