Dive Summary:
- Major food companies including Kraft Foods Group, General Mills, Mondelez International and Kellogg Co. are planning to roll out a $50 million campaign to promote the new "Facts Up Front" labeling system, which has slowly been introduced since 2011.
- "Facts Up Front" replaces the "Smart Choices" labeling program that ended four years ago and places front-of-pack nutrition labels showing calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugar content on dozens of brands.
- The campaign to promote the effort will include paid media and point-of-purchase marketing, and it will be funded by members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.
From the article:
... The campaign comes as the marketers face more scrutiny over health and nutrition issues. There is "a small but growing group of consumers" who are "increasingly distrustful of packaged food," said Alexia Howard, who covers the food sector for Sanford C. Bernstein.
The Smart Choices program, which featured a green checkmark, didn't help. It was scrapped in late 2009 after being widely criticized for giving the seal of approval to sugary cereals and fatty products like mayonnaise. At the time, the Food and Drug Administration, which was among the critics, signaled it would move quickly to provide guidance for front-of-pack labels. But the agency has allowed marketers to proceed without much oversight, to the dismay of some health advocates who say that Facts Up Front falls short. ...
