Diet-related ill health is one of the most significant challenges facing our generation. Many people are struggling to access healthy food and to be active in an increasingly sedentary society. In England, around two-thirds of adults are overweight and 28% are obese. Radical change is needed.
Addressing the causes of obesity is immensely complex, particularly during the challenges of the past couple of years. It is more urgent than ever for industry to step up to the plate and go further, faster, to deliver practical solutions.
Collaboration for Healthier Lives is a coalition of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), the only CEO-led organisation that brings consumer goods retailers and manufacturers together globally. We know collective action is critical to address urgent health challenges – and we use our influence to inspire lasting change.
Uniting more than 160 retailers, manufacturers, NGOs, academics, governments and public health authorities around the world, Collaboration for Healthier Lives has been exploring the best ways to support families to make healthier choices. This includes testing different approaches to improve the healthiness of consumer shopping baskets.
Our new report with Impact on Urban Health and the University of Oxford assesses the interventions and progress since our first report in 2020 – providing lessons learnt, barriers faced, and what must happen next to drive faster impact. It analyses the effectiveness of in-store trials, running over a year, which included changes to pricing and promotions, availability, choice architecture, shelf, and nutritional labelling as well as social feedback techniques.
The evaluation shows some promising results. For example, Tesco ran a Veganuary promotion in 96 stores to encourage purchasing of plant-based food – as a result, the sales value of targeted products was 1.2 times higher on average per store per week than in other stores prior to the promotion.
We can clearly see the potential for retailers and food businesses to improve consumer health and shape consumer demand. When companies work to understand what is successful and what works, and then implement meaningful change, they can have a significant positive impact.
However, there is great variation in efforts across the sector and more progressive companies are held back by an absence of regulation to level the playing field and mitigate commercial risk. Now is the time for all companies to step up a gear in their efforts to prioritise health. We believe companies should embrace transparency, as well as reporting on their progress.
To do this, they need comprehensive health strategies that the whole business can align around. These health strategies can include joining in with initiatives like the Collaboration for Healthier Lives, and a focus on scaling those trials that were successful to a national level.
This isn’t just about the moral imperative, essential as that is. There is a huge market for healthier options and companies face reputational risk if they don’t address these issues. Investors increasingly demand greater progress on health from their portfolios. If businesses fail to act, they will get left behind.
To deliver the scale and pace of change needed, collaboration is key. The industry must work with policymakers, public health experts and other stakeholders to ensure a holistic approach that empowers people to live healthier lives, rather than simply telling them what they can and can’t eat. The obesity challenge won’t be solved by working in isolation – collaboration across sectors is vital.
We must all seize the opportunity by doing more to empower people to live healthier lives.
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