100-year-old Nestlé ads are going viral in China because people had no idea it went back this far

Century-old Nestlé ads from China are going viral on Chinese social media, mostly because people are realizing this everyday supermarket brand has been around here for much longer than they thought.

Before Nescafé became China’s office survival drink, Nestlé’s China story started with milk. The company began trading in Hong Kong in 1874 with Eagle Brand condensed milk, then opened a sales office in Shanghai in 1908. Back then, China was moving from the late Qing dynasty into the Republican era, and cities like Shanghai were becoming windows into foreign brands, newspaper ads, department stores, Western medicine, and new ideas about “modern” living.

The ads now being shared online show how wide Nestlé’s early China playbook was. Chocolate was marketed as a romantic gift from guys to girls, as “delicious, nourishing, and hygienic,” and even as strength food before protein bars were a thing. Nestlé Milk Food was pitched to mothers, babies, patients, and the elderly. Lactogen ads claimed countless children around the world grew up on it, using “global trust” to sell baby nutrition. Milo’s early China pitch was even wilder: “tonic food” for tired workers, insomnia, fatigue, and recovery.

And Nestlé was already doing interactive marketing too. One old ad shows a newspaper contest where readers wrote essays promoting its products — and winners got cash prizes. Basically, UGC marketing, 100 years ago.

Turns out your pantry brand has serious great-grandpa energy.