The world’s biggest food company, Nestle, has said it sees sweeter sales growth after a weak start to the year.

It announced growth slowed to 4.2 percent between January and March, compared with the same period last year; that was measured in local currencies.

The explanation it gave was unusually cold weather hitting sales in North America while cost-conscious Europeans continued to opt for cheaper brands.

Sluggish growth in emerging markets is no longer making up for weaker demand in the developed economies.

However Nestle expects sales growth to pick up in the next few quarters.

It also warned a continued strengthening of the Swiss franc against other currencies would drag on its reported sales this year.

A roll-out of new products is also helping to sustain growth in difficult market conditions, Nestle said, and it would keep innovating and supporting its brands.