Nestlé’s purpose is to unlock the power of food and beverages to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. Creating Shared Value is at the heart of our purpose; we are leveraging our expertise, resources and global reach to address some of the world's most pressing challenges while at the same time making our business more resilient.
Nestlé Needs YOU
Nestlé Needs YOU (NNY) is part of Nestle’s global initiative built around this purpose. In the U.S., the initiative aims to create opportunities for upskilling, mentoring and knowledge-sharing through impactful programming, and collaboration with organizations on the national level and in neighborhoods across the U.S.
Our focus spans three key pillars: employability, entrepreneurship, and agripreneurship. Through the initiative, our efforts range from supporting future farmers to mentoring next generation food entrepreneurs to facilitating apprenticeships in technology and advanced manufacturing.
Employability
To help early careerists thrive and make their impact in the workplace of today and tomorrow, we encourage and support employees in sharing their skills, passions, and career tips through mentorship, coaching, and their own upskilling initiatives.
We also team up with like-minded organizations to support and empower the workforce of tomorrow:
- Expanding opportunities: We're expanding career opportunities by piloting new partnerships with programs like Year Up and Break Through Tech. Additionally, Our Purina team partners with the Starkloff Disability Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities participate fully and equally in all aspects of society, including employment opportunities.
- Reducing skills gaps: We're working to help reduce the skills gap in trades, manufacturing, and finance by supporting immersive learning experiences in partnership with Junior Achievement.
- Mentoring the next generation: Each year, approximately 800+ Nestlé employees—including executives—advise, mentor, and coach students through local school and non-profit partnerships.
Entrepreneurship
Through Nestlé needs YOU, we’re taking our spirit of innovation beyond our walls to provide the next generation of entrepreneurs with access to funding, development, mentoring, and networking.
- We provide high schools, non-profits, universities, and vocational programs free usage of Nestle’s global Youth Entrepreneurship Platform (YEP), which includes self-paced modules about entrepreneurship and food science. Students also have the opportunity to win mentorship and/or cash prizes through innovation challenges via the platform.
- Nestlé is encouraging future leaders to tackle real-world business problems through semester-long projects including AI data modeling and student-generated marketing plans.
- We sponsored DECA’s 2025 International Career Development Conference (ICDC), which drew over 25,000 future entrepreneurs from schools nationwide. During the conference, students learned about technology and the future of food—they had the chance to use Virtual Reality to see some of our manufacturing and R&D facilities, and interact with our robotic dog, Spot, who helps with daily tasks that support processes in our factories.
- Nestlé Purina PetCare is strengthening the future veterinary workforce by providing mentorship, training, and educational opportunities to veterinarian students and recent graduates enrolled in the Purina Ambassador Program and the Purina Scholars Program.
- Nestlé Professional Solutions supports the next generation in partnership with National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. This includes supporting ProStart, a two-year educational program for students pursuing a career in the restaurant, foodservice, and hospitality fields.
Agripreneurship
Nestlé Needs YOU spans our entire value chain – that’s why we are inspiring and equipping students to pursue careers in farming and food production through training experiences, and teaching gardens and farms:
- We provide grants and training that help enable students to design, construct, and maintain urban farms and kitchens, including an outdoor commercial pizza oven designed by architecture students for the University of Washington Urban Farm.
- With partners like Rid-All and Food Strong, we’re helping communities create urban farms and food gardens to increase access to fresh produce in food deserts and provide agricultural education to NextGen agripreneurs.
- Nestlé partners with leading student organizations such as Future Farmers of America (FFA) to collaborate on upskilling opportunities through educational booths, supplemental curriculum, facility tours, and other forms of engagement.
