Nestlé tops Access To Nutrition Index amid calls for industry to improve healthy foods’ affordability

01 Jul 2021 --- Swiss-based Nestlé has maintained its number one position in Access To Nutrition Initiative (ATNI)’s Global Index – a ranking of food and beverage companies based on how healthy, affordable and accessible their food is to consumers.

The news comes as Nestlé’s subsidiary Nestlé Health Science (NHSc) completes the acquisition of Nuun, a functional hydration company, to complement its other active lifestyle nutrition brands. 

Speaking to NutritionInsight, ATNI’s executive director, Inge Kauer, says that industry “must improve the affordability and accessibility of healthy products.”

“F&B manufacturers must take responsibility to deliver healthy product offerings to consumers across the globe and not leave nutrition behind.”

Meanwhile, a Nestlé spokesperson tells NutritionInsight “there is no one nutritional improvement that can solve everything – it needs a combination of nutritional improvements such as reducing sugar, salt and saturated fats; increasing whole grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds; and micronutrient fortification where required.”

“We also need the right related policies in areas such as marketing, labeling and so on, as outlined by ATNI itself,” the spokesperson adds.

ATNI says F&B manufacturers must deliver healthy product offerings to consumers across the globe.

Assessing top nutrition players
According to Kauer, addressing nutrition challenges is a task that requires urgent action, with the goal to deliver on the sustainable development goals to end world hunger and ensure good health and well-being.

“We’ve seen the fragility in supply chains in the last three years, but we’ve also seen companies using this as an opportunity to innovate. With an increasing demand from consumers for healthy products, there is an opportunity for manufacturers to take on this newfound responsibility and to use the new post-COVID-19 reality to enable healthier diets for all,” he notes.

ATNI’s Global Index assesses the 25 largest food and beverage manufacturers in the world on their nutrition-related policies, practices and performance.

This year the index ranked Nestlé first, with Unilever, FrieslandCampina, Danone, Arla, Mars, PepsiCo, Kellogg, Grupo, Mondelēz and Coca Cola respectively following in ranking.  

In notable mentions, Arla showed a big improvement from 3.3 in 2018 to 5.1 in 2021. This is largely due to a new labeling policy, responsible marketing policies and an improvement in healthiness of its product portfolio. 

“Meiji rose four places in the index partially due to incorporation of a nutrition strategy in its CSR vision and new policies aimed at marketing to children and labeling,” Kauer adds.

How Nestlé topped the list
Nestlé’s top position is a recognition of its commitment to nutrition and health as well as its engagement to help tackle the global challenges of obesity and undernutrition, the Swiss nutrition giant supports.

Nestlé also topped the last ATNI Global Index in 2018.

“Nestlé led the 2021 ranking with a score of 6.7 out of 10. The company achieved a top-3 rank in all categories of the Index and ranked first on ‘Governance’ and ‘Engagement,’” Kauer says.

The company has substantially improved its score on the nutritional quality of its portfolio, driven in part by higher consumer demand for healthier products.

Other highlights include:

• Nestlé’s commitment to make nutritious food available to people at all income levels. That includes fortification with vitamins and minerals to address nutritional deficiencies.
• A well-structured strategy on obesity and diet-related chronic diseases aligned with international guidelines, such as the World Health Organization’s recommendations on sodium and sugar intake.
• A strong policy on responsible marketing to children. 
• Support for government efforts to combat all forms of malnutrition. 
• Transparent reporting against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

Room for improvement
Despite the positive ranking, the ATNI says there is still room for improvements on Nestlé’s side.

Nestlé has improved the nutritional quality of its portfolio due to high consumer demand for healthier products.Notably in regards to its products, the company is encouraged to continue its reformulation efforts and improve marketing strategies to increase proportion of sales from healthy products.

Moreover, when it comes to accessibility, Nestlé is encouraged to improve its strategy by setting concrete, measurable targets that prioritize sales and distribution of healthy products. 

In addition, the company could consider strengthening the implementation of its strategy to support consumers with limited physical access to nutritious foods, and explicitly report on the healthiness of the products aimed at addressing micronutrient deficiencies.

Marketing is another area to focus on as despite Nestlé’s relatively strong performance on responsible marketing, ATNI urges the company to extend its marketing to children commitment’ to cover all children under the age of 18, secondary schools, and places where children typically gather. 

Nuun acquisition
Meanwhile, NHSc successfully completed the acquisition of Nuun, a functional hydration company with a range of effervescent tablets and powders. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

“We foresee exciting possibilities for growth and expansion, combining Nuun’s expertise in functional hydration and NHSc’s R&D capabilities and geographic reach,” says Greg Behar, CEO of NHSc.

Nuun is active in the separation of electrolyte replacement from carbohydrates. Its flagship product is a low-sugar electrolyte tablet for the sports beverage market.  

It now has a broad range of effervescent tablets and powders containing additional minerals and vitamins for energy, immunity, relaxation and everyday health. 

By Kristiana Lalou