Importance of balancing sustainability and nutrition requirements in food product development

In food product development we face the challenge to develop products that deliver great taste, good nutritional value and minimize environmental impact, while still being affordable. Ingredients like fats & oils contribute greatly to the carbon food print of products. Over 60% of Nestlé’s current in-scope GHG emissions are attributed to ingredient sourcing. At the same time essential nutrient contents as well as macro-nutrient balance will change with a substitution of raw materials.

Understanding the impact of our raw materials on both health and environment are key for product development. The basis to judge major impacts on the environment such as GHG emissions from raw materials in our supply chain are life cycle assessments (LCA). LCAs are an important tool to benchmark ingredients against each other. Furthermore, LCAs pinpoint improvement areas for ingredients that enable GHG emission reduction. Assessments demonstrate that most emissions are generated in agricultural production. Strategies to minimize GHG emissions encompass our “No deforestation” commitment as well as goals to source raw materials from regenerative agriculture.

Requirements in nutrition are guided by our internal “Good foundation”. This nutrient profiling system sets relevant and achievable category specific nutritional criteria and serves as a tool for product development and improvement.

Evaluations of our ingredients result in R&D activities that deliver transformations in our portfolio with more products having a lower environmental impact while contributing to a balanced diet. Activities in this area range from ingredient changes, identification of new ingredients like side-streams or the roll-out of our plant-based portfolio, which offers a tasty, nutritious, more sustainable choice for consumers.