Nestle flags more price increases on rising input costs

Foods major Nestle India will persist with price increases for categories, including coffee, due to higher production costs, said CMD Suresh Narayanan on Tuesday.

- RAGHAV AGGARWAL New Delhi, February 4

He highlighted the 75% rise in coffee prices, which he believes would be 'difficult to be absorbed' by the company. "If the rise in input costs for coffee is unrelenting, there will be more hikes. We have doubled our capacities and that will better the efficiencies, but you can expect some amount of pricing pressure to be there," Narayanan said.

The CMD observed that a further rise in inflation may lead to a more intense competition between traditional and online channels of distribution. "If price inflation becomes high then the degree of play between the channels will start to increase," he said in a post-earnings analyst call.