Nestlé is in advanced negotiations to sell its own brands of ice cream, the company’s new CEO, Philipp Navratil, said on Thursday. According to him, the idea is to sell its remaining ice cream business to the Froneri joint venture, which the food giant maintains with private equity manager PAI Partners. The joint venture’s shareholding structure will remain as is, he said. The ice cream division includes brands such as D’Onofrio, Real Dairy, Parlor and Lafrutta.
The possible sale will help to further simplify Nestlé’s portfolio, continuing a downsizing process that has lasted years. Nestlé’s new command focuses its efforts on four segments: coffee, petcare, nutrition and food/snacks.
Nestlé was long known as one of the largest ice cream makers in the world, until Froneri took over the majority of the business. The Swiss company still sells ice cream in some local markets that are not part of Froneri. In addition to Lafrutta, there are lesser-known brands in Brazil such as D’Onofrio, Real Dairy and Parlor. It is these remaining businesses that are under negotiation.
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PAI Partners raised billions of dollars last year to be able to hold Froneri for longer. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) came on board as a new minority investor at the time, in a deal that valued the company at around €15 billion (US$17.7 billion), including debt.
This Thursday, Nestlé shares rose up to 4.5% at the beginning of trading. The asset, which has lagged the performance of rival Unilever in recent months, has accumulated an increase of around 2.1% since the beginning of the year. Previously, shares had fallen around 40% compared to their 2022 peak. In contrast, competitors such as Danone and Unilever advanced more than 20% in the same period.
“Our actions are starting to pay off and growth trends are improving,” Navratil told analysts on a conference call. “We have a clear strategy with priorities.”
The maker of Nespresso coffee and Purina cat food projected this Thursday organic revenue growth of between 3% and 4% in 2026. The estimate compares to the projection of 3.2% made by analysts consulted by Bloomberg. Nestlé also reported that it is ahead of schedule in its cost reduction plan and has already achieved around 20% of the expected savings.
Navratil has faced a turbulent start to his tenure since taking charge last September. He is in the midst of cutting 16,000 jobs, about 6% of the global workforce, reorganizing the business around four main divisions and managing the infant formula recall.
Navratil and chairman Pablo Isla — both in office for less than six months — are under pressure from investors seeking a turnaround. Navratil is the Vevey-based company’s third CEO in the last two years, an unprecedented level of turnover in Nestlé’s top leadership. He took on the role after the departure of Mark Schneider due to poor performance last year and Laurent Freixe, for failing to disclose a relationship with a direct subordinate.
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Since taking over, Nestlé has updated management incentives, targets and compensation structures to “drive a culture of performance”, Navratil said on Thursday.
Isla is also the first external executive to assume the presidency of the board and announced, on Wednesday, a reformulation of the board, as he works to stabilize Nestlé after last year’s governance crisis. The company appointed former Swiss National Bank president Thomas Jordan and Procter & Gamble executive Fatima Francisco to strengthen oversight and improve decision-making.
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