Nestlé’s digital ad spend hit 68% before its latest marketing push

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Nestlé’s digital advertising shift is real, but the 55% figure needs a timestamp. The company’s own results show digital media represented 55% of paid media spend in 2022, then climbed to 68% in 2023. That makes the linked headline directionally right but numerically dated.

The timing matters because Nestlé is expanding the total marketing pool, not merely moving money between channels. Advertising and marketing reached 8.9% of sales in the first half of 2026, up 30 basis points year on year, while e-commerce accounted for 21.8% of group sales. Nestlé also reported 3.6% organic growth, giving management a commercial test for the higher investment.

This reflects a wider FMCG reset. CRISIL Intelligence estimates that Indian FMCG companies now direct 55–60% of advertising budgets to digital channels, up from about 30% in FY2020. Pushan Sharma, a director at CRISIL Intelligence, said the change is “evident in the ad spend patterns” of consumer-facing sectors.

Digital offers sharper targeting, faster testing, creator-led formats and closer links to retail conversion. The risk is treating greater measurability as proof of greater effectiveness. Platform concentration, incomplete cross-channel attribution and short-term optimisation can weaken long-term reach.

Nestlé has also argued against abandoning traditional media. In a 2023 interview, then-global CMO Aude Gandon said, “I absolutely believe in retaining one-third on traditional media.”

The strategic question is whether Nestlé can use its larger digital share to build memory and penetration, not merely harvest clicks. Marketers should assess incremental sales, unique reach and brand lift together. Otherwise, a modern media mix can still produce old-fashioned waste.