A report by a global non-profit body regarding the quality of food products,in terms of how healthy they are, show that global biggies follow different standards for different markets. The findings that have been reported in the media make us face some critical questions – how are brands able to get away with different standards for different markets? What can Government bodies to address this? How can consumers be made more aware regarding the impact on their health from the processed foods they consume? What role can others in the eco-system including shopper marketing agencies and retailers play to spread consumer awareness on healthy consumption?  

Findings by global public non-profit organisation Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNi) have revealed that corporate giants in the food and beverage sector tend to sell less healthy products in low-income countries, including India. The rating of the food products they sell in these countries is reportedly low compared to those in wealthier nations.  

The report, the findings of which have been made public, assessed products from companies like Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever and Danone, as part of a global index, the first since 2021.  

The non-profit reportedly found that across 30 major food and beverage companies, the products sold in low-income countries scored lower on a health rating system than those offered in high-income countries. The rating was based on the Health Star Rating System used in used in Australia and New Zealand, which ranks products on a scale of 0 to 5 stars, with higher scores indicating healthier options. A product scoring above 3.5 stars is considered a healthier choice.  The report says that in low-income countries, the average rating for these companies’ products was just 1.8 stars. In contrast, products sold in high-income countries had a higher average score of 2.3 stars.  

Reportedly companieslike Unilever, Coca-Cola, Mondelez and PepsiCo get 11-38% of their sales from healthier products, which is short of ATNi’s goal of having 50% of sales come from healthier offerings by 2030. As per the report, only 16% of Unilever’s products met the healthier threshold, while PepsiCo’s was 28%, Nestlé’s 25%, and Mondelez’s just 10%.The report’s definition of low and lower middle-income countries included India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Vietnam, Nigeria etc. Response from the brands in question, as reported in media, has been as expected – muted or non-existent.  But the bigger question is what can regulators do to address this and what can others in the eco-system including consumers, retailers and marketing agencies do to drive demand for greater health and nutritional information from brands, and for healthy products.  For example, In-store communications, that are really last-mile engagements with shoppers preceding purchases, could highlight the need to check nutritional information and ingredients prior to purchases, especially when it comes to food products.  But this would also mean incentivising retailers to drive such awareness campaigns and also encourage brands that focus on healthy ingredients and healthy manufacturing practices. But of course, central to all of these is a strict regulatory environment that focuses exclusively on public health safety. For the brands themselves, it might pay to have consistent quality standards across markets and have greater transparency in term of the health and nutritional information of their products, given the rising thrust on food safety andregulatory compliance and the growing need for brand credibility when to comes to the health and nutrition quotient in consumer products.