Branding and retail strategy in the condensed milk trade: Borden and Nestlé in East Asia, 1870–1929

Abstract

This article examines the branding, retail and consumer acceptance of condensed milk in Asian markets during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The two giants of the trade, Borden in the United States and Nestlé & Anglo-Swiss in Europe, each carved out distinct new markets in colonial Southeast Asia, but only the latter was committed to maintaining a long term presence, investing in local production and marketing, and taking over rights to Borden’s well-known Eagle brand after the Great War. As Nestlé expanded into Japan and China, its brand-led strategy faced new challenges of protectionism and a wave of lower priced knockoff products. Lacking a dedicated local partner, Nestlé lost ground, but remained focussed on retaining the integrity of its premium brands, a strategy that served it well over the long term.

Keywords:

• Nestlé
• dairy industry
• China
• food branding
• market entry

Acknowledgments

I am deeply indebted to Marten Boon and Espen Storli for patiently introducing me to the field of business history, to Alicia E for her insightful perspectives on market entry strategy, and to participants in the ‘Commodity Trading Companies in the First Global Economy, 1870–1914’, workshop at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and the two journal readers for their extremely useful comments on early drafts of this article. Thanks as well to the Singapore National, Shanghai Municipal, and Cornell University libraries, and as always to Misako Suzuki.

Disclosure statement

This paper presents no conflict of interest.

Notes

1 Corporate archives from Nestlé have been ably used by other scholars (Donzé and Kurosawa, 2013; Heer, 1966; Koese, 2008), and those from now-defunct Borden no longer exist.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas David DuBois

Thomas David DuBois is a historian of modern China, and Professor of Humanities at Beijing Normal University. He is currently conducting an extensive fieldwork-based study of China’s cattle, beef and dairy industries.