An approach to evaluate and improve the combination of nutritional and sustainability qualities of your food portfolio

The Nutrition Consultants Cooperative and CE Delft want to help food companies to improve both the nutritional as well as the ecological aspects of their food portfolio. Analyzing both aspects together offers clear advantages to gain a competitive edge and become ready for the future.

For a sample of our work in this area click on link below:
Presentation Zevenbergen for FI Europe, dec 6 2022 

Why?
We need to eat healthily, now and in the future. To make this happen, we need to choose foods that do fit in a healthy diet and that are grown and produced in a way that can basically be continued forever – without exhausting the planet and eventually destroying most of the life on it. In fact, these two aspects cannot be separated, because by continuing to grow and produce food in a non-sustainable way, we will at some point no longer be able to produce healthy diets for everyone anyway.

Food industry will need to provide information on both health and sustainability aspects of their products, and will need to do so swiftly, accurately, and cost-effectively. So responding to a consumer drive today and regulatory push tomorrow.

Challenges to overcome

• To improve, as needed, the nutrition profile. Nutriscore will be introduced in 2022 in the Netherlands, following France and likely joined all over the EU. It qualifies products visibly and comprehensively for consumers. How is the nutrition profile of your products, how does it compare to your competitors’ – and how can you improve it?
• To differentiate in product claims and communication. This may contribute to the appeal of your products – and is strictly regulated, however. What is possible and what not? How do your products fit national food-based dietary guidelines (e.g. “Schijf van Vijf”)?
• To meet national food reformulation targets for healthier diets. Governments in many EU countries implement mandatory reformulation targets for the food industry. Meeting these challenges require good insights in status of your products and monitoring of changes over time. How ready are you for that?
• To meet quantitative sustainability targets. The EU is working on a sustainable food labelling framework. Labelling greenhouse gas (GHG) emission may soon be mandatory. In addition, land and water use will be monitored and need to be revealed, as may be eutrophication and acidification of water and land. The Eco-Score has already been introduced in a few countries. How do you prepare to meet these challenges? What are your environmental hotspots and what is low hanging fruit to make your portfolio more sustainable?
• To make best use of quality marks or labels related to sustainability and animal welfare. There are substantial needs and demands for markers on responsible farming & fishing, human and animal welfare, and fair trade. To what extent do you have clarity on the data needed to qualify your products in this respect? Which of these data you have already, and which not? And as far as you can see now, how do your products seem to qualify? And finally, how could you make improvements in this area?
• To meet consumer demand for transparency of your products, processes, and communications. Consumers demand transparency in composition and origin; how comprehensive is your insight in your ingredients and their origin?

What do we want to achieve for you?

Many food companies want to overcome the above-mentioned challenges, and struggle in doing so.

With the Quickscan, we can help you to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of your product portfolio in the context of these challenges and facilitate solutions to improve composition and communication – keeping in mind attractiveness and pricing of your products.

The Quickscan a) enables a swift, reliable, and easy first evaluation of both nutritional and sustainability aspects of your food products, and b) facilitates understanding their strengths and weaknesses and allows strategies to surface by which to optimise health impact and sustainability of your products.

What is our approach?

1) Quickscan of nutritional and sustainability aspects of your products and related communications. You will understand if there is room for progression and what this could look like. This will reveal areas of hotspots, hence will bring focus in the next steps.

2) A step-by-step analysis investigating sustainability (via LCAs-method) and health jointly for the products chosen. In an iterative process with you as our client, we come to recommendations for optimising your products or communication and/or strategy.

In this process, Nutrition Consultants Cooperative and CE Delft bring extensive expertise in sustainability and nutrition to the table, combined with deep industry experience. Clients can rely on our comprehensive expertise, as well as on full confidentiality.

What will be the result for you?

1. Thorough understanding of both health and sustainability aspects of your products or portfolio and related communications, including their strengths and weaknesses.
2. Recommendations and support for developing your strategy to improve such health and sustainability aspects by adapting product composition and sourcing.
3. Concrete guidance in adapting your related communications. The advantage of approaching health and sustainability jointly is that over time the improvement process is more efficient and will result in a lower risk of introducing unplanned weaknesses.
4. Strengthen your company’s narrative on sustainability and health.