Nestlé to offload remaining ice cream business

Nestlé has confirmed it is in “advanced negotiations” to sell its remaining ice cream business.

In its full-year 2025 results, the world’s largest publicly held food and beverage company said it is considering selling the rest of its ice cream division to Froneri amid plans for “targeted brand rationalization”.

Froneri is an ice cream-focused joint venture that was created by Nestlé in 2016 with PAI Partners.

In 2019, Nestlé sold its US ice cream business to Froneri in a $4b deal, which now oversees brands like Häagen-Dazs, Drumstick and Outshine.

At the time, the multinational said it would continue to manage its ice cream businesses in Canada, Latin America and Asia.

Nestlé specialises in four key areas – coffee, pet-care, nutrition and food and snacks – and stated it has retained “market-leading positions” in the first three segments in 2025.

According to Philipp Navratil, CEO of Nestlé, the company is “focusing our portfolio on four businesses, led by our strongest brands, with prioritized resources and a simplified organisation”.

The business is also looking to simplify its organisational structure and enhance “local accountability”.

During the period, Nestlé posted organic sales growth of 3.5%. Its milk products and ice cream division achieved 1.3% organic growth, led by strong performance from dairy culinary brands, Nestlé and La Lechera.

Navratil replaced Laurent Freixe as chief executive in September last year, having begun his career with Nestlé in 2001 as an internal auditor.

In early 2025, Nestlé spun out its water and premium beverages activities to become a global standalone business as part of a £2.2b cost saving plan.