Nestle Updating Nutrition Strategy Amid Report of Health-Rating Shortcomings
May 31, 2021 at 04:41 am EDT
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By Joshua Kirby
Nestle SA is working to update its nutrition and health strategy, the Swiss consumer-goods giant said Monday, following media reports that an internal document acknowledged a major part of its products fall short of health criteria.
The company is looking at its entire portfolio, a spokesman told The Wall Street Journal. Earlier Monday, the Financial Times reported that the company admitted more than half of its mainstream food and drinks products failed to attain a healthy rating under a star system applied by the Australian government, according to an internal document.
The strategy will focus on those parts of the portfolio that can be assessed via external criteria such as the star system, Nestle's spokesman said. However, such rating systems don't apply to around half of the company's sales, covering areas such as infant nutrition, specialist health products and pet food, which are regulated by separate health standards, he said.
"We believe that a healthy diet means finding a balance between well-being and enjoyment. This includes having some space for indulgent foods, consumed in moderation," the spokesman said.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
Nestlé S.A. is the world's leading agri-food group. Net sales break down by category of products as follows:
- powdered and liquid beverages (26.7%): soluble coffees (Nescafé and Starbucks brands), coffee in capsules (Nespresso), chocolate drinks (Nesquik, Milo, etc.), tea drinks (Nestea), etc.;
- pet food (20.3%): brands such as Purina, Friskies, Felix, etc.;
- pharmaceutical, nutrition and well-being products (16.4%): nutritional supplements (Resource, Boost, Nutren, Optifast, Peptamen brands, etc.), infant and maternal nutrition products (NAN, illuma, Cerelac, Nido, Gerber), ketogenic beverages (BrainXpert), (Nesquick, Fitness, Cheerios, Lion, etc.), etc.;
- ready meals and seasoning products (12.5%): frozen and chilled dishes (Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets and Stouffer's brands), soups (Maggi), etc.;
- dairy products and ice cream (11.8%): powdered milk, sweetened condensed milk, yoghurt and cream desserts, ice cream (Nido, Nesvita, Carnation, La Laitière, Coffee Mate, Nestlé Ice Cream, Dreyers, Häagen-Dazs, Extrême brands, etc.);
- chocolates, sweets and biscuits (8.7%): Kit Kat, Smarties, Cailler, Terrafertil, etc. brands;
- bottled waters (3.6%): Nestlé Pure Life, Vittel, Perrier, S. Pellegrino, etc. brands.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Switzerland (1.2%), France (3.8%), the United Kingdom (3.8%), Germany (2.4%), Europe (12.8%), the United States and Canada (35%), China (5.9%), Asia and Oceania (21.4%) and Latin America (13.7%).
NESTLÉ S.A. 
