Have a break, have a sales increase

The world's largest food business boosted group sales in the first nine months of its financial year by 4.1 per cent to 82.8 billion Swiss francs (54.3bn), while sales in its core food and beverages arm were up 4.5 per cent to 77 billion Swiss francs (50.5bn).

The group said major investment in marketing and new products helped maintain growth seen in the first half, despite battling against higher commodity prices.

Chocolate prices have risen steeply recently as the price of cocoa has soared. Nestle is said to have hiked prices for the second time in nine months on some of its most popular lines, reportedly adding 4p to Kit Kat and Aero bars earlier this month.

Worldwide sales of espresso brand Nespresso grew by 20 per cent, and were particularly strong in its biggest European markets, the group said.

Nestle UK employs around 7,000 people across 19 sites.

In York, a key facility, the company has spent 15m on a new Aero plant and is in the process of spending another 15m in upgrading wafer technology for KitKats, on top of 5m in redesigning the site.