The world's biggest food group announced it beat expectations in the third quarter with near 5% growth, driven by strong demand for pet food, coffee and health products.

The performance in Q three led the Swiss conglomerate to raise its guidance for organic sales growth to around 3% for this year.

Nestle said demand for food and drinks consumed at home stayed strong during lock downs, but that's in sharp contrast to sales of products consumed out of home on on the go, which fell 26% in the third quarter.

Nestle, the maker of Nescafe, a coffee and Kit Kat chocolates, also beat analyst expectations with its organic sales growth.

For the first nine months of the year, sales were up 3.5% compared to a predicted 2.8%.

The Americas recorded the strongest growth rates in the nine month period, while the Chinese market returned to growth in Q three.

Nestle has coped with the global health crisis better than many rivals due to its broad portfolio of products.

French peer down on this week, said it would review its operations after sales dropped in the latest quarter.

Wednesday's earnings report was well received by investors, which shares in Nestle rising 1.6% in early trade.