The revamp of Kit-Kat and launch of the Kit-Kat Senses range were major factors in “a strong performance” for Nestlé’s UK business, the manufacturing giant said today.

The company said it had exceeded 2008 targets for the UK but did not provide detailed figures. However, sales across its European food and beverage business showed organic growth of 5.6% to CHF28.15bn (£16.86bn).

Nestlé’s global business, meanwhile, posted a pre-tax profit increase of 69.4% to CHF18bn (£10.78bn) on sales up 2.2% to CHF109.9bn (£65.84bn).

“Nestlé UK continues to deliver a strong performance, particularly in confectionery and beverage, despite tough trading conditions,” UK and Ireland chief executive Paul Grimwood said.

The success of Nestlé UK was particularly driven by the Kit-Kat brand, which gained market share in 2008, as well as Nestlé’s coffee business, where Nescafé Original remains the UK’s best-selling instant coffee. Nescafé Gold Blend also saw strong growth and Dolce Gusto established itself as the UK’s top-selling coffee machine.

“When the economy is as dark as this, people will always want a nice coffee or ice cream to cheer themselves up,” Bulcke told The Grocer.

However, the ongoing slowdown of the bottled water category, particularly in Western Europe and North America, caused Nestlé Waters’ sales to dip by 1.6% on a like-for-like basis.

Nestlé Waters executive vice president John Harris said the UK represented a relatively small element of the division’s business in comparison to France and Italy.

“We have a strong player in Buxton in the UK and that has recorded good growth,” Harris said. “Perrier and San Pellegrino are holding up well at the premium end. But overall, we plan to make new advances on our still brands.”

Bulcke added that Nestlé would need to strengthen its relationship with UK retailers to battle the economic turndown,

“The UK market is very important to Nestlé’s global setup,” Bulcke said. “It is the birthplace of Kit -Kat and has real drive and dynamism in leading developments in confectionery.”

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