Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food maker, sees Russia as one of the most promising markets to expand its industry-leading coffee business despite a squeeze on consumer spending caused by plunging oil prices and the ruble’s devaluation.
Russians are increasingly turning to single-serve varieties, a pattern also seen in eastern European countries like Turkey, Nestle’s European chief Luis Cantarell said in an interview in Geneva. Nestle’s Russian sales will increase about 15 percent this year in local currencies, estimates Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Bank Vontobel AG in Zurich. The company needs that growth as other emerging markets such as India and China have slowed.
