Nestlé cuts back on design consultancies

Nestlé is cutting the number of design consultancies it uses worldwide in its move to economise by reducing all its supply sources.

“It is up to each local market how far it wants to go,” says a spokesman at Nestlé’s headquarters in Switzerland. Nestlé in Canada and the US have already downsized, while the UK is believed to be in the process of slashing its number of regular design groups (DW 8 March). Nestlé US slashed its design roster by two thirds and now uses just six groups.

Canada has reduced its regular design suppliers to a roster of one – Russell Design in Toronto. “Over the past two years we have taken the management of the design management portfolio and have made it a specific discipline,” says a spokesman for Nestlé in Canada. “There is more onus on a design partnership [with Russell Design] taking responsibility for the whole process.”

Russell Design, which has a designer based at Nestlé’s office, is also designing packaging for the company’s other markets. “The objective is to get us all linked to draw on each other’s facilities,” explains the Nestlé Canada spokesman.

Russell Design is working on a new product line in Canada, to be launched next month.