VEVEY, SWITZERLAND — Nestlé S.A. released its annual report on March 24, detailing the company’s performance in 2019 and strategies for continued success in 2020. The company’s PetCare segment made up 15% of its total annual sales.

This segment, which includes several Purina brands and Tails.com, drove global sales of 13.6 billion CHF ($13.9 billion USD) in 2019, finishing the year as Nestlé’s third most profitable segment behind powdered and liquid beverages and nutrition and health science.

PetCare accounted for 28.3% of the company’s total sales across North and South America (Zone AMS), which totaled 33.2 billion CHF ($33.9 billion USD). The largest contributors to this geographic region were Purina PetCare and the company’s beverages segment.

CHF to USD conversions are based on April 3, 2020 exchange rates.

Nestlé’s pet segment made up 19.3% of sales in Zone EMENA, which includes Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, in 2019. Nestlé noted the segment was the single largest growth contributor for this region, specifically driven by its Felix, Purina ONE and Tails.com brands. Total sales for Zone EMENA were 26.5 billion CHF ($27.1 billion USD).

Strong demand drove single-digit growth for Nestlé’s PetCare segment in Zone AOA, which includes Asia, Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa. The segment accounted for just 2.9% of the zone’s 23.8 billion CHF ($24.3 billion USD) in sales throughout 2019.

Nestlé described its past and future success in the pet care space — referred to in the annual report as “a billionaire brand focused on outcome-based nutrition”— as a result of Purina’s ongoing research in microbiome health, product development in the natural and wet pet food categories and investments in e-commerce.

The company’s commitment to corporate sustainability has translated into recycling of recyclable plastic for its pet nutrition products, starting with its Beyond Grain Free products. Nestlé also pointed to environmentally friendly offerings in Mexico, Chile and Switzerland, where pet food dispensers are displayed on store shelves and pet owners can fill their own reusable containers to eliminate the need for single-use packaging.

Overall, the company saw a 3.5% organic increase in net sales to 92.6 billion CHF ($98.4 billion USD). This growth was attributed largely to success in the United States across categories, as well as innovations to Purina PetCare products.

Nestlé’s earnings per share increased by 28% over the year to 4.30 CHF ($4.49 USD).

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