The founder of one of the leading Swiss companies settled in Vevey in 1833. Henri Nestlé was born in 1814 to a rich Frankfurt family. Fleeing the repression that followed the revolutionary riots in Germany, he exiled to Switzerland in 1833.

Henri Nestlé settled in Vevey, where he worked as a pharmacist. He conducted many experiments and invented new soft drinks and solutions. In the 1860s, he began a series of experiments on milk to fight against infant mortality and thus invented Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, a milk food product that proved its worth by saving a child who had rejected his mother's milk.

Henri Nestlé was almost 40 when he discovered what was to become an enormous success. Nestlé's milk food was marketed in 1867 and sold throughout Europe. The Compagnie Nestlé was bought out in 1874, and merged in 1905 with its competitor, the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, which then saw another merger in 1947 with Maggi.

Nestlé is now one of the largest international food industries, turning over 80 billion CHF in global sales. The company comprises many different brands such as Perrier, Findus, Nestea, and Buitoni, to name a few. Its international headquarters is still located in Vevey, the city that first welcomed the company's founder.