1029 GMT - Nestle's spending on research and development is more than its next three competitors combined but recently it failed to scale promising innovation, Barclays analysts say. The maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nescafe coffee said it will boost innovation to increase sales, which Barclays says is the most important element to any sustainable change to the company's fortunes. Real innovation is about quality and not quantity, given that a small number of important innovations usually could bring better outcomes than several incremental renovations, they say. "The challenge will be to be laser focused on prioritization even if that means 'killing' promising innovations that do not have the potential to become 100 million franc plus-revenue platforms," they add. Shares are down nearly 25% since the start of 2024. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 21, 2024 05:29 ET (10:29 GMT)

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