Under public pressure Swiss food giant Nestlé announced it would pull certain brands in Russia.
After fierce criticism from Ukrainian politicians and members of the public the firm said it would continue to sell essential foods while pulling popular brands such as KitKat and Nesquik.
A growing number of western brands have suspended their operations in Russia in protest at the war in Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Nestlé said “We are fully complying with all international sanctions on Russia.” “As the war rages in Ukraine, our activities in Russia will focus on providing essential food – not on making a profit,” said the company.
On 11 March 2022, the company announced that it had stopped all advertising in Russia and suspended investment into and the export of products from Russia. In addition, it said it had suspended the import of unessential food products such as Nespresso into the country.
However, many complained that this was not enough. On 19 March 2022, in a streamed speech, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy directly criticised Nestlé for continuing to conduct business in Russia.
On 23 March 2022, Nestlé announced that it would halt the sale of non-essential food products, including KitKat and Nesquik, among others. The company also said that although it did not expect to continue to make profits (and pay tax) in Russia, if it did turn a profit there it would donate it to humanitarian organisations.
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