SUPERMARKETGURU FOOD &
HEALTH WEEKLY NEWSFLASH!
EU Companies Doing More Than US to Prevent Obesity
July 3, 2008
European-based food groups are edging ahead of their US rivals in addressing health and wellness concerns relating to their businesses, says a recent report from Insight Investment and JP Morgan. The report looked at the effectiveness of 10 of the world's leading listed companies in their efforts to address current consumer health challenges; like obesity.
Obesity is a considered a worldwide epidemic by the World Health Organization. According to their estimates, there are 1.7 billion overweight and obese people globally, including 135 million in the EU alone. Economic consequences of this epidemic are significant. Obesity currently accounts for up to 7% of the EU's health care costs. In the US, total costs of obesity-related illness like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, reached $117 billion in 2000.
The 10 companies reviewed were Danone, Unilever, Nestlé, Kellogg, Cadbury Schweppes, Kraft, Heinz, PepsiCo, Coca Cola and Premier Foods. Danone, Unilever and Nestlé topped the list for their efforts to both formulate and implement policies that spoke to current consumer health concerns. Kelloggs, Kraft, Cadbury and PepsiCo performed well in some areas but lagged in others. Coca Cola, Premier and Heinz received lower scores.
Danone topped the list for having a comprehensive policy for addressing health issues, for providing excellent labeling and consumer information, and for making progress in reformulating many of their less-healthy products.
Unilever came in second thanks to their valiant efforts to begin to reformulate 27,000 products within their portfolio, and for their establishment of responsible marketing efforts, especially in regard to children. Meanwhile, Nestlé was doing a good job of educating consumers and encouraging active lifestyles – among other things.
The best performing American company in the survey was Kellogg. Kellogg came in fourth for their clear consumer messages, but they couldn't score higher due to a lack of communication (on health topics and relating strategies) with stakeholders and investors.
Interestingly, none of the companies reviewed had set clear targets to guide their commitments relating to health and wellness, and few had adopted corresponding marketing policies. Also, most provided little or no analysis on the risks to their businesses perceived from the detrimental effects of health issues like obesity on an ongoing basis.
This discussion has been closed!
FREE WEEKLY NEWSFLASH: To register for SupermarketGuru's weekly updates by email, click here.