Danone UK & Ireland has today launched new commitments for its promise to prioritise healthier products in its portfolio.
The yogurts and drinks giant is pledging to never produce a product high in sugar, salt, or fat (HFSS) for children. Danone also confirmed that 90% of its portfolio will fall into “healthy” categories, or those scoring at least 3.5 stars out of 5 in the Health Star Rating index, an international tool that assesses the overall nutritional profile of packaged food.
The commitments are the new minimum threshold Danone UK & Ireland’s consumer brands, including Alpro, Activia, Light & Free, Actimel, Oykos, Volvic and Evian, will be held to.
The company also confirmed its intention to implement clear and consistent front-of-pack nutritional labelling in line with future UK and Ireland legislation. In advance of that, it will publish nutritional data for its portfolio, using the HSR system and UK Government HFSS guidelines as benchmarks – alongside product nutritional information – on its website.
The French firm noted that its announcement comes at a time when UK consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious. Research commissioned by Danone found that 94% of UK consumers try to eat healthily and pay attention to the food they eat all, or at least some of the time.
Consumers are also conscious of the sugar and fat content of a product when making purchasing decisions, with these nutritional elements being a concern for almost half (50% and 49% respectively) of all UK shoppers.
“Health is at the heart of everything we do, and I am proud to announce that 90% of our products are now not high in sugar, salt, or fat. We know families want the healthy choice to be the easy choice and we are committed to supporting them” said James Mayer, President of Danone UK & Ireland.
“Consumers are more health conscious today than they ever have been. As an industry, we must continue to help consumers to make healthy choices by offering products that are both tasty and nutritious. That is why, as a purpose-led company, we commit to maintain a strongly health-focused portfolio.”
Danone stated that it hopes its commitments will encourage others to further raise health standards in the UK and Ireland food and drinks sector.
