Dive Brief:
- To continue to be successful in the industry, Nestle CEO Paul Grimwood wrote that the company needs to meet the diverse nutrition needs and ever-changing preferences of today’s consumer in an essay posted in Medium.
- In an effort to evolve, Nestle is working to reduce sugar, salt and saturated fats in its products, without sacrificing taste or quality. It’s also simplifying its ingredients, working towards better food safety and investing in local communities as part of its commitment to increase nutrition, health and wellness worldwide.
- Grimwood recommended that other food manufacturers follow Nestle’s lead, as more innovation is needed across the industry to combine great taste with nutritional improvements.
Dive Insight:
While Grimwood champions the idea that all companies need to adopt his company's efforts in regards to simplifying ingredients, improving nutrition and building communities, food analysts don’t believe that all three are necessary to be successful in 2017 and beyond. In fact, even improving on one of these areas should be enough to keep consumers happy.
The Sterling-Rice Group predicted that the year 2017 will see more consumers looking to rediscover traditional cooking methods and explore global cuisines, with nutrition, sustainability and authenticity at top of mind. Food companies are already working to keep pace with this trend, and are updating product labels to highlight the healthy benefits of their products.
According to Global Food Forums, there’s been a growing interest in the number of proteins in products, as today's consumers have a sharper eye and read labels more carefully. So simplifying ingredients and adding healthier options to products is another way to increase sales and boost consumer interest.