History
In the mid-1860s, Henri Nestlé had a goal: to find a healthy, inexpensive alternative for mothers who could not feed their infants at the breast. It was a mission that launched the Nestlé Company, and one that had a far-reaching impact on the health, wellness and the very survival of infants at the time.
A trained pharmacist, Henri Nestlé experimented with various combinations of cow's milk, wheat flour and sugar. The final result was a new product he called Farine Lactee. His first customer was a premature infant who could not tolerate his mother's milk or any of the known substitutes. The new formula saved the baby's life and within a few years Farine Lactee Nestlé was available throughout much of Europe.