Trend by Walter Rach, Managing Director, Food & Beverage Practice
In January, 2011, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans report was announced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These regularly updated guidelines are the federal government’s evidence-based nutritional guidance to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obese individuals through improved nutrition and physical activity. This 7th edition release of the Guidelines was announced with a sense of urgency by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who stated, “The 2010 Dietary Guidelines are being released at a time when the majority of adults and one in three children is overweight or obese and this is a crisis that we can no longer ignore.” He added, “These new and improved dietary recommendations give individuals the information to make thoughtful choices of healthier foods in the right portions and to complement those choices with physical activity.”
But are Americans becoming more aware of nutritional and dietary guidelines such as these and are they following them? In a survey of food and beverage industry marketing, R&D and general management executives conducted by Cook Associates, 69% of respondents believed that awareness and understanding of nutritional and dietary guidelines have increased among Americans since the 2005 Guidelines were published by the USDA and HHS. However, when asked to estimate the percentage of Americans that actually follow nutritional and dietary guidelines, the executives surveyed were more pessimistic – 86% of the respondents felt that 30% or fewer Americans adhere to the guidelines.
Over the years, Food and Beverage Industry companies have increasingly touted the nutritional and healthy aspects of their product offerings. However, has the large volume of marketing information brought forth by processors helped or confused consumers? In our survey, respondents were essentially equally divided on this question, with some saying that the marketing information generated by food and beverage companies has both helped and confused consumers.
For those consumers who desire to learn more in order to eat healthier, they frequently find that this information overload can be daunting. Messages from Food and Beverage companies as well as those of governmental agencies and industry association groups are often times complicated and conflicting. Communication can be very product specific, fragmented and hard for consumers to understand. Health claims are sometimes made or implied with only questionable scientific studies to back them up. It is no wonder why some consumers get frustrated in their quest for dietary knowledge or they follow a path which may not actually be in their best interests with regard to nutrition.
One sensible solution, echoed by many of those that responded to our survey, is to practice simplicity and consistency when providing nutritional messaging. This may take the form of reducing the number of messages which bombard consumers, substantiating the messages with established scientific studies and using consistent and accurate language.
A practical initiative to achieve simplicity and consistency which seems to be gaining traction is “Front of Pack” (FOP) labeling. This refers to nutrition and health information found in voluntary information or claims on the primary display panel of a product, including nutrient content claims, structure-function claims, health claims or dietary guidance. FOP information is often communicated through the use of symbols, logos, and icons. Consumer research done regarding FOP labeling has shown its use leading to an increased understanding and accuracy of the product’s nutritional value and that consumers still rate the food package label as their top source of nutritional information.
An example of FOP labeling can be seen with the launch earlier this year of the “Nutrition Keys.” Presented jointly by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) as a response to First Lady Michelle Obama’s request made the previous year, Nutrition Keys is a voluntary front of package labeling system designed to help consumers make informed choices of food and beverage products while they shop. The effectiveness of the information included and the presentation style of these “Nutrition Keys” can be debated, but it is a worthwhile attempt to simplify the important nutritional content of food and beverage products. Since this is a voluntary initiative, its overall success will be partially dependent on the support and adoption by food and beverage companies which will begin placing the icon on their products this year according to seasonality and production scheduling. Participating manufacturers and retailers will initially invest at least $50 million in advertising, public relations and in-store marketing to educate consumers. Consistency is also critical for an initiative like this to succeed – consumers need to get accustomed to a program like the Nutrition Keys and frequent changes or revisions work to derail the effectiveness of its familiarity and acceptance.
Another example of simplifying nutritional information is the USDA’s recent change from the traditional, decades-old Food Pyramid into the new graphically represented MyPlate.
This new representation simplifies matters by defining the ratios in which foods should be eaten, stressing, as USDA official Robert Post stated “Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.” Also supported by the current administration, MyPlate is expected to be heavily introduced in schools, in order to give children a proper image of good nutrition.
Obesity is a serious issue for America and it is growing worse. In addition to getting the proper amount of physical activity, Americans must also eat healthier. The amount of information available regarding nutrition is immense and growing day by day. It is up to food and beverage companies, governmental agencies and industry organizations to help consumers sort out all of this information in order to make healthier food and beverage choices. As a means to accomplish this, many food and beverage companies in recent years have been creating or strengthening in-house Nutrition departments and bringing on board key nutritional professionals to create more formalized functions for the company and to develop better nutritional messaging for consumers.
Accurate information needs to reach and impact the American consumer – and the best way to do that is with simplicity and consistency.