A German pharmacist who moved to Switzerland in 1839 mixed cow's milk and wheat flour to save a dying infant — and inadvertently founded the world's largest food company. From that single moment in 1867, Nestlé grew through relentless acquisition and distribution innovation into a 200-billion-dollar empire operating in 185 countries. Along the way: the invention of milk chocolate, Nescafé, Nespresso, KitKat's transformation into Japan's national good-luck charm, a decades-long infant formula boycott, a CEO fired with no severance for an undisclosed affair, and a global baby food recall unfolding at the same time. The machine is damaged. But the machine is still running.