Whole grains and vegetables

wholegrains vegetables

Whole grains and vegetables

What is the issue?

Whole grains and vegetables are essential for a healthy diet. Whole grains are an important source of fibre, healthy fats and antioxidants, while vegetables provide a range of vital nutrients. However, recent studies show that more than 80% of us aren’t eating enough whole grains, while fewer than a third of adults eat their recommended five-a-day of fruit and vegetables.

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Why is it important?

We want to use our products and our influence to help our consumers eat a healthy, balanced diet. As a major manufacturer of breakfast cereals through Cereal Partners UK, we’re in a position to introduce more whole grain into people’s diets. Through our Maggi brand of recipe mixes, we can encourage people to eat more vegetables.

 

  • Achieved
  • By 2015 – To ensure a high nutritional content, there will be more whole grain than any other ingredient in any serving of children’s or teenagers’ breakfast cereals.
  • Not achieved
  • By 2016 – (globally) 90% of Maggi product portfolio worldwide will be promoting home cooking and meals with vegetables.
  • Globally, we have implemented a renovation project to increase the use of familiar and recognisable ingredients in our Maggi portfolio. This requires changes to our packaging, which has delayed us from meeting our target for 90% of the Maggi product portfolio to promote home cooking and meals with vegetables. We continue to work on achieving this objective through the next year by merging it with our work on portion guidance.
  • At the end of 2015, 47% of our UK & Ireland Maggi retail portfolio promoted home cooking and meals with vegetables. We are continuing to work towards achieving this objective through the next year by merging it with our work on portion guidance.
Society

A healthier society with a more balanced diet.

Business

Anticipating consumer needs and desires, developing our portfolio.

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What are we doing about it?

We encourage consumers to introduce more whole grain into their diets in two main ways. Firstly, through product reformulation, we are continually increasing the whole grain content of our breakfast cereals. Whole grain is now the number one ingredient in our cereal brands such as Shredded Wheat, Shreddies and Cheerios.

Secondly, we increase knowledge and awareness of the nutritional benefits of whole grain cereals through our advertising campaigns, research programmes and through Cereal Partners UK’s partnership with the British Dietetic Association.

Although vegetables aren’t part of our product portfolio, we do encourage consumers to eat them through our Maggi range of recipe mixes and meal ideas, many of which encourage the use of fresh vegetables.

Shredded Wheat package  

Increasing whole grain in our cereals

We continually review and reformulate our products in order to improve their nutritional value, in line with our Nutritional Profiling System criteria. Through product reformulations, we have decreased the sugar content of our breakfast cereals by 1,400 tonnes (1) since 2003, while at the same time increasing their whole grain and fibre content.

Over 60%

of our cereal brands are high in fibre.

No. 1

Wholegrain is the number one ingredient in all our breakfast cereals (apart from our gluten-free cereals)

Family meal  

Feeling good about breakfast – ad campaign

In January 2016, we launched our latest Nestlé Cereals ad, which celebrates the health benefits of our most popular breakfast cereal brands. The ad raises awareness of the wholegrain and fibre content of Shredded Wheat, Shreddies and Cheerios, as well as the iron content in our fortified cereals. Watch the ad.

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What’s next?

Increasing wholegrain and fibre in our products will remain a priority for us in 2016.

Footnotes

1. Reference formulations are 2003 recipes or launch recipes for those products introduced post-2003. The figures are not cumulative (only for 2015), using 2015 sales figures.