Mr. Nardelli, standing in the middle of a store here, declared himself "obsessed with growth" — whether from candy bars or appliances or pipe-making companies.
This coincided, he noted, with an equally significant increase in sugar consumption — almost doubling from 1890 to the early 1920s — with the birth and subsequent growth of the candy and soft-drink industries.
But analysts agreed that it provided Nestle, of Vevey, Switzerland, which had more than $46 billion in sales in 1999, with a way of weaning itself away from dependence on comparatively slow-growth foods like candy while strengthening its hold on the promising pet food business.
Some analysts like the company primarily because of the growth of its core candy operations, its debt-free balance sheet and aggressive share buyback program.
Over the past few years, as concerns over childhood obesity and carbohydrates have risen, the growth in sales of candy and other snack foods has slowed noticeably.
Snacking categories all had sales growth as salty snacks, candy and alternative snacks all had strong growth as some consumers, especially Millennials, moved toward snacking and away from traditional meals.
For Kraft, the deal offers a chance to expand its footprint in emerging markets and in higher-growth sectors like gum and candy.
Barry Callebaut, a Swiss candy maker, agreed to sell its Brach's Candy unit after weaker-than-forecast growth in the United States market for private-label confections.
To Wall Street, economic growth is a little bit like cotton candy: It's good in moderation, but too much will make you sick.
The confectionery market consists of chocolate, candy and gum, of which gum is the biggest part still with huge growth potential as products become more varied.
