Sugarcoated Evil: The Corrupt Company that Owns 2000+ Brands Globally
Hint: it rhymes with Wesley
Boycotts have become a topic of much discussion in 2025. From the list of Trump donors to Gaza solidarity boycotts to one day economic blackouts of dubious worth, the question, it seems, isn’t if we’re boycotting, but who.
Yet, amidst all the listed companies, I’ve rarely, if ever, seen Nestle.
You might know exactly what I mean when I say Nestle should be boycotted. If so, read on for more information on the brands they own and strategies to boycott.
For many, though, the name Nestle simply calls to mind chocolaty goodness of various kinds. What’s to hate there?
If this is you, read on for just three of the many reasons to boycott Nestle.
Reasons to boycott
Unethical baby formula marketing practices
As demand for baby formula declined in higher income countries, companies turned to the developing world, with Nestle leading the charge.
Falsely advertising formula as healthier than breast milk, Nestle sent sales representatives masquerading as medical professionals to poor countries in Africa. There, they provided mothers with free formula to try—until their breast milk fired up, at which point Nestle began to charge for the formula they now relied on.
By the mid-70s, actual health professionals were sounding the alarm, linking these practices to infant deaths. They found that Nestle was promoting formula to mothers who lacked access to clean water which is absolutely necessary for safe baby formula.
A boycott launched in 1977 forced Nestle to agree to comply with an international marketing code endorsed by the WHO. However, a former salesman accused Nestle of repeating the same practices in Pakistan in the 1990s, and in 2011, they were accused of unethical marketing practices in Laos.
If their past patterns are any indicator, Nestle will do what they think they can get away with and will only change unethical practices when forced to. Whether or not Nestle is currently complying, I don’t feel comfortable supporting a company that has to be forced to stop causing infant deaths.
Forced labor, slave labor, and child slavery
The cocoa industry is infamous for its exploitation through forced labor and child slavery.
Nestle has drawn criticism for not being sufficiently vigilant in its sourcing and for continuing to source cocoa from plantations that use child slaves. These children, as young as 12, are abducted and trafficked to these plantations, where they are subjected to grueling labor and cruel mistreatment.
It is, of course, worth noting that Nestle is not the only company profiting off of slave labor in the cocoa industry. Nestle’s competitors, such as Mars, have also been accused of dodging responsibility.
This is why, when we discuss alternatives later in this post, I discourage embracing Nestle’s large competitors.
In 2021, six former child slaves sued Nestle, accusing them of knowingly sourcing cocoa from Ivory Coast plantations that used forced labor. The suit was dismissed, but only because the court ruled a Swiss company could not be held accountable for events that took place in Africa.
Now, Nestle essentially says that they are free of any blame because they aren’t the ones engaging in child slavery—despite the profits they’ve gained from it.
Dubious water pumping practices
While Nestle no longer owns Arrowhead water, it became the subject of controversy while they did.
Arrowhead sourced water from a natural spring in a Native American reservation in San Bernardino, California. Due to prolonged droughts in the area, the Native residents’ access to and use of the water was restricted. Arrowhead, however, pumped 30 million gallons a year, even during droughts.
San Bernardino was not the only place Nestle sourced water, nor was Arrowhead the only offending brand. According to the Story of Stuff Project, an environmental group investigating the company’s bottling practices, Nestle took “25 times more water than it had a right to”.
Nestle Waters America, which has been rebranded as Blue-Triton water, has had similar over-pumping controversies in other states like Oregon and Michigan. Research going back a century shows that Nestle has no right to the land they’re draining—they’ve sourced their water from public lands and reservations.
The big picture is, essentially, a company siphoning free water—causing permanent damage in the process—and selling it to the public for profit.
Just the tip of the iceberg
There are many more reasons to boycott Nestle: including a price fixing scandal where they colluded with competitors, extensive union-busting (most notably their liability in the murder of a Columbian union leader), and deforestation. They’ve also had numerous food safety issues and recalls, one of which again caused infant deaths. More recently, there have also been accusations of Nestle adding sugar to infant food and cereal.
I highly encourage you to do your own research and dive deeper into these issues. It’s notable that many of their “resolved” issues were only addressed when they faced great backlash, as is the case with their baby formula scandal. Other issues continue under dubious acceptance, such as the sourcing of their cocoa.
Brands to boycott
Unfortunately, Nestle owns over 2,000 brands worldwide, owns shares in several more, and has many licensing agreements.
They own brands in numerous industries: coffee, confections, pet food, health food, bottled water, and more.
Most notably for those in the U.S., they own popular frozen pizza brand, Digornio, and popular coffee creamer, Coffee-Mate.
They also have a licensing agreement with Starbucks for the packaged coffee portion of the company.
How to boycott
The number one question when boycotting such an expansive company is how do you even begin to do it?
For most people, it’s impractical to attempt a complete and abrupt boycott of every single one of their companies and products. It’s helpful to approach it one step at a time.
Start by identifying the Nestle products you purchase the most. This is where you are giving the most of your money to Nestle.
Research good replacements for these products, which may vary depending on your location.
This has been easy for me, since I have many food allergies that disqualify me from the bulk of their products. Through my research, I discovered that I was only purchasing one Nestle product: Purina cat food. Due to my cat’s specific health needs, I had two options to feed him and had been buying the cheaper option (Purina) for the last year. I will now be making an effort to switch him back to Hill’s Science Diet.
I would discourage you from switching directly to Nestle’s main competitors. Especially in the chocolate industry, many of them are guilty of similar offenses.
Instead, try to buy local and fair-trade as much as possible. I’ll also link this Lakota Law resource on good alternatives to Nestle and Starbucks, which emphasizes indigenous owned brands and sustainable brands as well as points out affordable options.
Another good strategy is adopting a general boycott mindset, by reducing your overall spending to necessary purchases only. If you can’t find a good alternative to Nestle products, consider doing without.
Is a Kit-Kat really worth supporting an unethical company?
Spread the word
Thanks to their sugar-coated products and reputation, many people don’t know the truth about Nestle. The company sure isn’t gonna lead with all that!
Boycotts are most successful when they’re as widespread as possible. The 1977 boycott pressured Nestle to abandon unethical marketing practices, but as we’ve seen, Nestle is far from reformed.
Such a company does not deserve your hard-earned money. In fact, I would argue they don’t deserve a business at all.
“Why Are You So Quiet?” is a free newsletter from my little life to yours, but if you want to support my writing, my music, and my coffee habit, click the link below. Plus, you can rest assured I won’t spend my coffee money at Starbucks or Nestle!