Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency last week added food giant Nestlé to Russia’s war of aggression international to the list of sponsors.
Nestlé manufactures Piltti baby food in Finland. Swiss company has owned I have been taking photos since 1998.
The continuation of Nestlé’s operations in Russia led to a rift between Pilti and a long-term partner even before ending up on the blacklist.
The Mannerheim Children’s Welfare Association (MLL) suspended the cooperation in the spring of last year.
It was self-evident to MLL that it could not continue cooperation with a company whose operations are in conflict with its values and mission, says the Director of Communications and Fundraising Leena Poutanen.
– As an organization defending children’s rights, we cannot possibly work with a company that continues to do business in Russia despite the war of aggression and flagrant human rights violations, Poutanen says.
MLL had a visible collaboration with Pilt for more than 20 years. As a result of the end of the cooperation, MLL lost a significant source of income. According to Poutanen, Piltti paid tens of thousands of euros annually for the cooperation.
Last spring, the organization also canceled the planned Piltti coffee shop tour and withdrew its magazine containing Piltti’s advertisement, which resulted in a lot of additional costs.
According to Poutanen, the decision was nevertheless the right one. In the current situation, MLL could not think of continuing to cooperate with Pilti.
– It’s a shame that being part of an international multinational company can put you in such a situation, says Poutanen.
Finland’s Nestlé confirms that the partnership ended at MLL’s initiative last year.
– We naturally regret this decision, but we respect it, Nestlé’s communications manager Nina Hannola says to .
According to Ukraine, Nestlé has not done enough
Nestlé still has factories in Russia and exports to the country. According to Ukraine, Nestlé supports Russia’s war of aggression because it pays taxes to the country and contributes to Russia’s connection to the international economy.
‘s investigation recently revealed that several ice cream brands that are considered Finnish have a connection to Russia, because the company owned by Nestlé still produces ice cream in the country.
Nestlé does not comment on being blacklisted by the Ukrainian authorities. asked for a comment from Nestlé Suomen, according to which the company has nothing to add to what was previously published in its bulletin.
In it, the company says that, among other things, it has reduced its production in Russia and will no longer make capital investments in the country. Instead, it is setting up a new factory in Ukraine.
Head of the Anti-Corruption Agency of Ukraine Oleksandr Novikov told earlier that Nestlé was added to the blacklist only now because the company had made it clear that it was trying to withdraw from the Russian market.
According to Novikov, Ukraine was disappointed that, in their view, Nestlé did not make any practical changes to its operations in Russia.
University: Nestlé is “playing for time” in Russia
Nestlé is deliberately delaying the Russian market and directly “playing for time”, says a top American university Yale research team. According to it, the company has frozen further investments and marketing, but still continues significant business in the country.
The company itself claims that it focuses on “supplying essential food and basic foodstuffs” in Russia. In reality, the shelves of Russian stores are bursting with many kinds of Nestlé products, the Swiss newspaper reported NZZ in February.
According to the magazine, it seems that Nestlé interprets the term “essential foods and basic foodstuffs” very broadly.
– For the company, basic foods can mean Nescafé coffee, breakfast cereals, Maggi bouillon cubes and pet food, in addition to essential products like infant formula, NZZ writes.
According to NZZ, the export of only “luxury products” made abroad, for example Nespresso coffee capsules, to Russia has been stopped. Nestlé did not answer the magazine’s questions on the subject.
Piltti jars, sauce and ice cream in Finland
Nestlé manufactures all Piltti foods in glass jars in Finland. Other Piltti products are manufactured elsewhere in Europe.
In Finland, Nestlé also owns the Puljongi sauce factory, which the parent company is considering selling.
Ice cream in Finland is produced by the Finnish subsidiary of Nestlé-owned Froner.
Do the Russian connections of the products sold in the store affect your purchase decisions? You can discuss the topic until Tuesday, November 7 at 11 p.m.