Henry Nestle Founder of Nestle, inventor of powdered milk Date of Birth: 10.08.1814 Country: Switzerland

Biography of Henry Nestle

Henry Nestle, the father of powdered baby food and the founder of Nestle company, was born on August 10, 1814, as the eleventh child in a family of a Frankfurt glassblower. During his years of education, he gained knowledge not only from scientific books but also from practical work. While studying the art of pharmacy, Nestle held four different jobs.

After completing his education, Nestle decided to settle in the Swiss town of Vevey. He found employment at a pharmacy and spent four years there, mixing powders and selling licorice candies to customers. During this time, he dreamed of starting his own business. Fortune smiled upon him in 1843 when he acquired a small processing plant, including warehouses, fields, a sawmill, and a pressing machine for bone processing, with money borrowed from his widowed aunt in Frankfurt.

At first, Nestle focused on producing fruit liqueurs and vinegar. Soon, he expanded his product range to include carbonated water and lemonade. He then introduced mustard to his assortment, adding some spiciness to his products. Nestle's experiments did not stop there. Utilizing his knowledge of chemistry, he started manufacturing gas for street lamps.

In the early 1860s, meticulous Henry married Clementine Emaan. However, his new wife suffered from poor health and could not become a mother. Nevertheless, Clementine willingly took care of the children while their mothers worked at her husband's factory. It was she who drew Henry's attention to the fact that infants often lacked breast milk. In the 1860s, experienced pharmacist and chemist Henry Nestle began experimenting with cow's milk, wheat flour, and sugar. In 1867, he developed a ready-made milk mixture for infants called Farine Lactue Henri Nestle - a powder easily soluble in water. The first consumer of the new milk mixture was a newborn child of one of Nestle's employees. The baby could not tolerate breast milk, cow's milk, or goat's milk. Nestle's powder saved his life and proved to be an excellent product. As a symbol, Nestle chose a graphical representation of his surname - a little bird's nest.

By the early 1900s, Nestle company managed its factories in the United States, England, Germany, and Spain. To the soluble baby food, Nestle added Europe's first condensed milk and the first milk chocolate. By the beginning of World War I, the company was producing other soluble products, such as powdered Milo drink for children and powdered oil-milk.