It’s 1867 in Switzerland, and a premature baby cannot breastfeed, which is worrying in an era when many infants die of malnutrition due to a lack of effective breast milk alternatives. Henri Nestlé learns about the case and feeds the child his new ‘farine lactée’ infant food. It is the only product that the boy can digest, and he survives.

Nestlé’s story proper begins in 1866, with the foundation of the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, which launched Europe’s first condensed milk. This was another life-saving product in an era before refrigeration, when fresh milk spoilt easily in transit. In 1905, Anglo Swiss merged with Nestlé’s company to form the Nestlé & Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, which evolved into Nestlé from 1977.

The company’s early success was due to its investment in science-based products and modern factories to produce them efficiently. Railways and steamships gave Nestlé & Anglo-Swiss access to new urban markets worldwide, and it made savvy use of modern advertising media – newspapers, magazines, billboards – to educate people on product benefits. Namely, nutrition, quality, safety, affordability and taste.

It’s a blueprint for success that, bar a few necessary updates, still applies today. One other benefit that Nestlé products have always offered is convenience, and this became especially important after World War Two, when more women entered the workplace, and people demanded foods that were easy to prepare.

By 1938, people could ‘start the day with a Nescafé’, the world’s first great-tasting instant coffee, simply by adding hot water. By 1948 they could enjoy Nesquik, a cocoa-based powder that dissolves easily in cold milk. And by 1957, they could finish the day with Maggi pasta ‘ready meals’ in cans, which were hugely successful.