Global food giants selling less healthy products in India compared to developed nations: Report

A new report reveals that the world’s largest food and beverage companies tend to sell less healthy products in low-income countries, including India, compared to those in wealthier nations. 

The report, published by the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNi), assessed products from companies like Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever as part of a global index, the first since 2021. The non-profit found that across 30 major food and beverage companies, the products sold in low-income countries scored lower on a health rating system than those offered in high-income countries. 

Business Today was unable to verify the claims independently.

The Health Star Rating (HSR) system, used in Australia and New Zealand, ranks products on a scale of 0 to 5 stars, with higher scores indicating healthier options. A product scoring above 3.5 stars is considered a healthier choice.   

In low-income countries, the average rating for these companies’ products was just 1.8 stars. In contrast, products sold in high-income countries had a higher average score of 2.3 stars. 

Companies such as Unilever, Coca-Cola, Mondelez and PepsiCo are prominent players in markets like India, where they derive 11-38% of their sales from healthier products. However, this falls short of ATNi’s goal of having 50% of sales come from healthier offerings by 2030. Among the companies assessed, only 16% of Unilever’s products met the healthier threshold, while PepsiCo’s was 28%, Nestlé’s 25%, and Mondelez’s just 10%.

“It’s very clear that these companies are not offering their healthier products in the poorest countries, where their presence is growing. This should serve as a wake-up call for governments to be vigilant,” Mark Wijne, research director at ATNi, told Reuters.

In its response, Unilever told Business Today, "The ATNI Report quotes the mean HSR (Health Star Rating) for low-income countries (including India) as 1.8 vs high income countries as 2.4. However, Unilever and HUL sales weighted mean HSR, they are the same (Refer page 10 of the ATNi Scorecard template for HSR of Unilever and refer Global Index 2024 – ATNi (Access to Nutrition initiative for HSR of HUL. Hence, alleging Unilever is grossly incorrect. Apart from this, it is pertinent to mention that the report excludes our tea and coffee portfolio, which forms a large part of the HUL Foods and Refreshment business and will score higher on the nutritional rating criteria as reported by Unilever."

The copy will be updated with response from Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Mondelez when they are received.

The ATNi index, which includes 30 global food companies, is the first to compare the health ratings of products sold in wealthy countries versus those in low- and middle-income nations. India, for example, is Unilever’s second-largest market after the US, with emerging markets accounting for nearly 60% of its revenue. 

ATNi classified countries like Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Tanzania and Vietnam as low- and lower-middle-income countries, where food systems are particularly vulnerable to unhealthy dietary shifts.  

The increased consumption of processed foods is a key factor contributing to rising obesity rates and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). While processed food sales are highest in high-income countries, their growth is accelerating in low- and middle-income countries, driven in part by the expansion of multinational food companies marketing inexpensive, nutrient-poor foods, the ATNi report said. 

Socioeconomic factors, such as urbanisation and more women joining the workforce, also contribute to these dietary shifts, it added.

The report highlights that, for many people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), healthy diets remain unaffordable. In fact, over half (52%) of households in LMICs struggle to access nutritious food. Achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030 will be difficult without significant changes to global food systems. 

Looking at the broader food industry, there have been slight improvements since ATNI’s 2021 Global Index. Of the 52,414 products analyzed, about 31% met the Health Star Rating threshold for “healthier” products, similar to the previous report. However, half of the products (51%) scored below 2 stars, and a quarter (24%) scored just 0.5 stars, as per the report.

In terms of micronutrients, products sold in high-income countries had the highest average number (3.4) compared to low- and lower-middle-income (3.2) and upper-middle-income countries (2.6). High-income countries also had a larger proportion of products (52%) that contained at least one micronutrient. 

ATNI’s report underscores the growing role of packaged foods in the global obesity crisis, which now affects over one billion people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.