Internal document states that its products underperform “recognised definition of health”
Nestlé’s internal documents reveal that 70% of the company’s products failed to meet the “recognised definition of health”, including its overall food and drinks portfolio. Water and dairy products, however, scored better with 82pc of waters and 60pc of dairy products.
An internal presentation circulated among top executives earlier this year, seen by Financial Times, stated that only 37% of Nestlé products achieved a recognised definition of health.
The company, that makes Maggi noodles, KitKat, and most famous the Nescafe, describes the 3.5-star threshold as a “recognised definition of health” and the only 37pc of its mainstream food and beverages (by revenues) could achieve this threshold.
FT reports that 70pc of the company’s food failed to meet the threshold, 96pc of beverages, and 99pc of confectionery and ice cream portfolio among the company’s overall food and drink portfolio. The documents note that despite the company’s significant improvements, its portfolio underperforms against the external definition of health.
We have made significant improvements to our products . . . [but] our portfolio still underperforms against external definitions of health in a landscape where regulatory pressure and consumer demands are skyrocketing,
The presentation notes
It’s also worth noting that this does not include baby formulas, pet food, coffee, and the health science division that makes foods for people with specific medical conditions. That means the data does not include about half of Nestlé’s total revenues.
This data does not include Nestlé Pakistan’s portfolio. Though the company sells some of its global products in the country including the ones in the data, it also owns, makes, and sells country-specific brands such as MilkPak. We are not sure though how healthier the products are in Pakistan.
Update: In a response to the FT report, the Swiss company has released a statement claiming that it was working on a company-wide project to update its nutrition and health strategy while looking at its entire portfolio to make sure its products helped meet people’s nutritional needs.