The world’s biggest food company, Nestle, has said it sees sweeter sales growth after a weak start to the year. <br /><br />It announced growth slowed to 4.2 percent between January and March, compared with the same period last year; that was measured in local currencies. <br /><br />The explanation it gave was unusually cold weather hitting sales in North America while cost-conscious Europeans continued to opt for cheaper brands.<br /><br />Sluggish growth in emerging markets is no longer making up for weaker demand in the developed economies.<br /><br />However Nestle expects sales growth to pick up in the next few quarters.<br /><br />It also warned a continued strengthening of the Swiss franc against other currencies would drag on its reported sales this year.<br /><br />A roll-out of new products is also helping to sustain growth in difficult market conditions, Nestle said, and it would keep innovating and supporting its brands.
