Nestlé to ‘evolve’ nutrition and reporting after investor criticism of healthy food targets

Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe posted on LinkedIn that after another meeting at the end of 2024 with ShareAction investors they agreed to “evolve Nestlé’s reporting on nutritional value of the company’s portfolio” as well as “make it easier for investors to compare companies and their portfolios across the food industry”. 

This came after March 2024, when ShareAction, the responsible investing charity, filed a resolution asking Nestlé to set targets to increase the sales of healthier foods, and apply internationally accepted standards that define healthy foods. 

This means that Nestlé’s portfolio may be moving towards more transparency, as well as hopefully pushing the marketing and sales of healthier foods. ANTi analysed the Nestlé product portfolio at the end of 2024, finding that only 32.7% of the sales are from healthier Nestlé foods and beverages.

“I think that there is still a very long way to go – although I guess a little credit must be given for the slight shift towards healthy food,” said Sue Goldstein, public health medicine specialist and division director at the SAMRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science at PRICELESS SA.

Nestlé had an overall score of 3.7 out of 10, scoring lowest on affordable nutrition (3/10) and portfolio improvement (3.5/10) and highest on Reporting Nutrient Profile Models (9/10) which are a system for classifying foods based on nutritional content, often used to assess healthiness – such as fats, sugars and salt. 

People often say that food choices are down to the individual. But what is available, accessible, affordable, desirable, convenient and effective with marketing all play a role in determining people’s choices. 

‘Evolve’ nutrition reporting 

“We appreciate the constructive dialogue with ATNi and ShareAction and their recognition of our progress and transparency. We have the same interest – making balanced diets accessible for all people around the world. We are one of the food companies at the forefront of the work on this and it requires the whole industry to engage to make a difference,” Conny Sethaelo, corporate communications and public affairs director at Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region, told Daily Maverick. 

Freixe added that with Nestlé’s next non-financial report they will “evolve” nutrition reporting via three mechanisms: add new data aligned with the scope of ATNi, include a sales weighted average measure for relevant categories and the total portfolio, and continue to use the Health Star Rating system. 

Further steps 

ATNI lauded the progress Nestlé has made, but said “further steps are needed to fully align with ATNi’s expectations for responsible nutrition reporting.” These include:

• Setting a clear and ambitious target to increase the share of healthier products sold, and reducing sales of less-healthy products;
• Greater transparency on reduction of nutrients of concern (sugar, sodium, saturated fat);
• Public reporting of marketing audit results and responsible marketing practices;
• Progress updates on front-of-pack labelling and use of nutrition or health claims; and
• Full adherence to the WHO Code on the marketing of breast milk substitutes.

“We comply with the World Health Organization International Code for the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and World Health Assembly resolutions as implemented by national governments everywhere in the world,” Sethaelo said. She added that they have restricted the promotion of formula for infants aged 0 to six months worldwide. In more than 160 countries, including South Africa, they apply stricter rules to prevent promoting formula for infants of 0 to 12 months. 

Social media sites available in South Africa, such as Facebook, do have Nestlé pages such as “Nestlé Nankid 4” where age is not mentioned, on posts saying things like “Every growing kid with a growing mind deserves a good foundation. With NESTLÉ® NANKID® OPTIPRO® 4 daily, your kid gets the support they need for their growing body and growing mind.” The Facebook page description is “baby goods/children’s goods”. 

Nutrition governance: 7.8/10

Nestlé has committed to the target “to grow the sales of more nutritious products by CHF 20 to 25 billion by 2030, representing about 50% growth over 2022 sales”. “Nutritious products” refers to products that meet Health Star Rating (HSR) 3.5 (or above) and its specialised nutrition products (such as baby foods, supplements and medical nutrition). 

Nestlé is strongly recommended to increase the sales target of healthier foods relative to less-healthy products, to ensure that sales of less-healthy products do not grow at the same rate. 

Portfolio improvement: 3.5/10 

Nestlé has committed to reducing sodium in frequently consumed products by 2025, with targets for further reductions set for 2030. 

The company reports that it has achieved “5-6% sugar and salt reduction over the last six years” and met 2025 sodium reduction objectives in half of its product categories. 

Asked how they will address nutrient differences in the Global South, since products for infants and toddlers have more sugar in countries like South Africa, Sethaelo said the approach is “global, meaning we are committed to providing more nutritious, affordable food and beverages to people in all countries in which we operate, including LMICs”. 

“At Nestlé, we’re committed to making a positive impact by creating products that tackle locally relevant nutritional deficiencies and are regularly consumed by a large portion of the population. Our goal is to offer foods that support a balanced diet and are affordable for those who need them most – helping meet critical societal needs while creating lasting value for our business.”

Saturated fats and sticking to a date 

As with sugar reduction, the company said it will focus on growing sales of products meeting HSR≥ 3.5. While saturated fat is a major component of the HSR algorithm, there is no reformulation target for saturated fat reduction.

Industrially produced trans fat (iTFA) is an industrial process of adding hydrogen to vegetable oil, going from a liquid to a solid. It can be found in baked goods, some packaged foods and margarine, for example. Among other dietary factors, high intake of trans fat increases the risk of death from any cause by 34%, coronary heart disease deaths by 28% and coronary heart disease by 21%.

Nestlé indicates that the company has successfully limited iTFA to less than 2g per 100g of fats and oils, aligning with WHO recommendations. Additionally, the company has shown evidence of internal standards in place to prevent the presence of iTFA.

Nestlé is encouraged to report specifically on its progress in reducing levels of sodium (ideally in line with the WHO sodium benchmarks), saturated fats, and sugar, across all relevant product categories – and set a specific, measurable and time-bound target for reducing levels of saturated fats and free sugars. 

Reformulating, reducing and investing in marketing 

Sethaelo explained that they believe an “absolute target” is the best way to guide the strategy of increasing sales of more nutritious foods and beverages. 

“We are proud of all of our products and want to ensure that we address responsibly the diverse needs and preferences of our consumers,” said Sethaelo, adding that they are “taking action across three key areas.” 

“These are reformulating existing products and developing new ones with improved nutrient profiles,” Sethaelo said. They have “reduced health-sensitive nutrients but believe that a holistic approach to improving nutritional value based on nutrient profiling systems (including HSR) is the best approach.” 

And they are investing significant marketing spend behind products scoring HSR 3.5 and above, she explained. 

Fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains 

Nestlé, through its joint venture with General Mills as Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW), commits to having whole grains as the main ingredient in its cereals. Nestlé provided evidence of tracking the percentage of products with whole grain as the number-one ingredient over the past three years.

Nestlé is encouraged to set targets to increase levels or sales of products containing meaningful levels of minimally processed fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes (FVNL) and whole grains across all relevant product categories and report against them. For its CPW target, the company is recommended to publish how it defines “whole grains” in this context, ideally using the Whole Grain Initiative definition.

“We do support the Whole Grain Initiative definition – and advocate for harmonisation of whole grain food definitions globally, using this one as standard,” Sethaelo said. 

This is particularly important to sub-Saharan Africa, as Nestlé has announced a $7-million (R124-million) investment to expand its cereal manufacturing facility in Harare, Zimbabwe. 

How else does Nestlé score? 

In the Nutrient Profiling Model Nestlé scored 2.6 out of 10.

Nestlé reports on the healthiness of its product sales using Health Star Rating, which was originally only applied to its children and family category products in 2020, and now applies to the entire global portfolio – an improvement. 

However, while the company shared details with ATNi about how it categorises products according to HSR guidelines, it did so under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). To enhance transparency, Nestlé is strongly encouraged to publish the healthiness of its product sales according to HSR, excluding the plain coffee portfolio, or make it available on request, without an NDA.

In terms of affordable nutrition, it scored three out of 10. 

For workforce nutrition, it scored seven out of 10. 

In terms of responsible labelling, it scored 7.5 out of 10. 

With responsible marketing, it scored 4.1 out of 10. 

Nestlé recently launched a platform called GoodNes, collaborating with South African influencers to cook “healthier food”. For example, it featured cooking with instant noodles, which while usually low in calories, are high in sodium, fat and carbohydrates. The amount of salt in one packet of noodles far exceeds the daily recommended intake. 

“The way that healthy food is promoted on the GoodNes platform includes processed meats (which are carcinogenic) and foods high in salt like: ‘Maggi Lazenby stir-fry, featuring a blend of beloved brands like Maggi 2-Minute Noodles and Worcestershire Sauce.’ In some ways, this is even more dangerous as they are claiming that these are healthy foods and innocent people who are trying their best for their families fall for this hidden advertising,” Goldstein said. 

“What this means for countries like South Africa is that we don’t have the monitors who are able to follow exactly what Nestlé are doing – in our universities – on social media, and in other spaces. Thus, they can get away with promoting unhealthy foods as healthy with no comeback.  

“The limited goal of improving their foods to be healthier will not be sufficient to turn the tide against the obesity tsunami we are facing,” she concluded. DM