Nestle plans to return as much as €18bn to shareholders by 2022 and indicated an appetite for acquisitions to help chief executive Mark Schneider sustain faster growth and better profit margins.

European chocolate lovers are about to get an injection of Japanese culture, as Nestle’s green-tea matcha KitKat launches across the continent.

Scientists at Nestlé's first Irish Research and Development (R&D) centre, which was officially opened today, are to focus their efforts on investigating nutritional solutions for the first 1,000 days of the lives of newborns.

Nestle’s unit in Japan expects a fledgling business that sells nutritional drinks and supplements to aging consumers to grow into a nearly $1bn (€865m) behemoth within a decade, as the food giant becomes the latest to employ genetics to market food.

Thomas Mulier and Corinne Gretler In the third-biggest transaction in Nestle’s 152-year history, the Swiss food giant will spend almost €6bn for the right to market Starbucks products from beans to capsules.

Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle has said that it is ending its agreement with the well-heeled Bettencourt family of France over the L’Oreal cosmetics empire and is exploring options for its Gerber Life Insurance business.

Nestlé has defended itself against an activist group’s criticism of its infant milk products, saying it respects international marketing standards and does not suggest its products are better than breastmilk.

Nestle has agreed to sell its US confectionery unit to Ferrero, the Italian maker of Nutella, for $2.8bn (€2.3bn) in the Swiss food giant’s first major divestment since chief executive Mark Schneider took the helm last year.

Nestle plans to switch in or out of businesses with combined sales of almost 10bn Swiss francs (€8.7bn) as chief executive Mark Schneider focuses on coffee, bottled water, and pet care to prioritise profitability over scale.

Nestle has said it will defend claims in a new lawsuit in which Atari accused the Swiss food company of pilfering its classic 1970s video game Breakout to help sell Kit Kat bars.

Vegans, look away now!

Nestle and Unilever have reported sales that beat estimates as the European food giants pushed through cost increases to combat slowing purchases by pickier consumers opting for quality over quantity.

Nestle has recalled a batch of its KitKat Bites and warned people with nut or peanut allergies to be "especially vigilant" after incorrectly packaging the chocolates.

Nestlé’s flagship confectionery brand KitKat® will contain extra milk and extra cocoa from this week as Nestlé continues efforts to reduce sugar.

Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, is stepping up its push into medicine with a global deal worth up to €100m to develop and market an experimental milk allergy test for infants.

Swiss food giant Nestle is to invest over €25m in a “significant” expansion of its existing R&D centre in Co Limerick.

Sebastian Coe has vowed the IAAF will not accept a decision by food giant Nestle to abruptly terminate its sponsorship deal with world athletics’ governing body.

The IAAF has suffered a new blow after Nestle announced it has terminated its sponsorship of the world athletics’ governing body.

Nestle has agreed to buy out shareholders of Osem for about $840m (€750m) and take the Israeli foodmaker private, the two companies announced yesterday.

Nestle is in talks to merge its international ice cream business with R&R Ice Cream in a €3bn deal, according to a source familiar with the matter, as the world’s biggest packaged food firm focuses more closely on its higher-performing brands.

A batch of instant noodles worth over €44m is being destroyed by Nestle due to high levels of lead.

KitKat maker Nestle saw first quarter sales boosted by an early Easter but growth was dented by currency changes after the Swiss central bank’s shock decision to lift a cap on the franc.

Swiss chocolate giant Nestle cannot trademark its slogan Have a Break because it lacks specific character, a top European court adviser said today.