Career and new name
Before Nestle turned 20 in 1834, he completed a four-year apprenticeship with J. E. Stein, owner of a Frankfurt pharmacy. At some point between 1834 and 1839 he migrated, for reasons unknown, to Switzerland.[6] At the end of 1839, he was officially authorized in Lausanne, Vaud, to perform chemical experiments, make up prescriptions, and sell medicines. During this time, he changed his name to Henri Nestlé in order to adapt better to the new social environment in French-speaking Vevey, where he eventually settled.
In 1843, Nestlé bought into one of the region's production of rapeseeds. He also became involved in the production of nut oils (used to fuel oil lamps), liqueurs, rum, absinthe, and vinegar. He also began manufacturing and selling carbonated mineral water and lemonade, although during the European food crisis in the 1840s, Nestlé gave up mineral water production. In 1857 he began concentrating on gas lighting and fertilizers.
Though it is not known when Nestlé started working on his infant formula project, by 1867, Nestlé had produced a viable powdered milk product.[7] His interest is known to have been spurred by several factors. Although Nestlé and his wife were childless, they were aware of the high death rate among infants. Nestlé would have been aware of Justus von Liebig's work in developing an infant formula.[2] In addition, fresh milk was not always available in large towns, and women in higher society were starting to view breastfeeding as an unfashionable option.[2]
Nestlé combined cow's milk with grain and sugar to produce a substitute for breast milk.[7] Moreover, he and his friend Jean Balthasar Schnetzler, a scientist in human nutrition, removed the acid and the starch in wheat flour because they were difficult for babies to digest.[8] Initially called "kindermehl," or "children flour", his product had an advantage over Liebig's "soup for infants" in that it was much easier to prepare, needing only to be boiled prior to feeding, and it soon proved to be a viable option for infants who were unable to breastfeed.[2][7] People quickly recognized the value of the new product, and soon Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, "Henri Nestlé's Milk Flour" in French, was being sold in much of Europe. By the 1870s, Nestlé's Infant Food, made with malt, cow's milk, sugar, and wheat flour, was selling in the US for $0.50 a bottle.
Nestlé's milk-condensation process enabled the chocolatier Daniel Peter, of Vevey, to perfect his milk chocolate formulation in 1875, after seven years of effort, and the two men subsequently formed a partnership which resulted, four years later, in 1879, in the organisation of the Nestlé Company, which eventually became one of the largest Europe-based confection industries.
