Description
Consumer understanding is at the heart of our innovation and renovation agenda to be able to deliver food and beverage products that are appealing and tasty to our consumers and that have a better nutritional quality. This goes hand in hand with continuous investments in new technologies, together with third parties, allowing us to develop these products now and in the future.
Unilever's nutritional commitments are embedded in the innovation and reformulation roadmaps of our brands, where specific guardrails are set for our product categories, with clear governance.
We drive up the nutritional density of our products by including more of the ingredients and nutrients we should eat. This can be achieved by using high-quality ingredients delivering more nutrition or via fortification.
We count products as delivering more ‘positive nutrition’ when ingredients, macronutrients or micronutrients meet at least one of the threshold values under our Positive Nutrition Standards (PNS). The threshold values will be published on Unilever.com and are based on dietary guidance (eg, the World Health Organization recommendation to eat at least 400g/day for fruit and vegetables) or existing regulations (eg, protein, fibre and micronutrient content to make a 'source of' claim). The selected ingredients are fruits, vegetables, legumes and fungi, wholegrains, nuts and seeds. Macronutrients include unsaturated fatty acids, protein and fibre. Micronutrients include five critical nutrients that are at risk of deficiency – iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A and vitamin D – and micronutrients that are associated with plant-based diets: vitamin B2, folate, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Overarching commitment (for commitments submitted pre-2025)
Title
More products meeting Unilever’s PNS
Description
We envision a regenerative and equitable food system producing healthy, safe and nutritious food for all. We want to contribute positively to the transformation of the food system through innovation and reformulation by continuously providing food products with higher nutritional values. In this commitment, we focus on food products that contain more of the ingredients, micronutrients and macronutrients we should eat. These are vital to growth and development and can help to maintain health. The lack of essential nutrients can cause nutritional deficiencies and a subsequent risk of disease. The preservation of the inherent nutrients in foods is critical to maintaining a nutrient-rich food supply from production through to consumption. Seed quality, farming practices, processing technologies and consumer eating patterns can be optimised to support the inherent nutritional quality of foods. Beyond nutrient preservation, micronutrient fortification – fortifying widely and regularly consumed foods with vitamins and minerals – has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective way to alleviate the public health burden of micronutrient deficiencies. Fortifying foods with macronutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids and fibre, is also key to improving public health outcomes globally. Our commitment targets ingredients and both macro- and micronutrients.
This commitment is aligned with Unilever’s Responsible Business Pledge under the Product (Re)formulation and Innovation for Improved Nutrition commitment area.
GNR assessment
| Verification status |
Verified
Find out more
|
|---|---|
| SMARTness index |
High
Find out more
|
Details
| Nutrition Action Classification(s) |
Policy >
Food supply chain
Find out more
|
|---|---|
| Linked event(s) |
|
| N4G Summit theme(s) |
|
Measurement
| Key indicator | Percentage of Unilever's food and refreshment product sales, by volume, that meet Unilever's PNS |
|---|---|
| Measurement plan | Collect own data |
| Value | Measurement date | |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 27% | 2019 |
| Target | 54% | September 2025 |
Progress
| Value | Measurement date | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progress report | 52% | September 2023 |
On Course
The reported progress indicates that the expected level thus far had been achieved, though must be maintained until the end date is reached.
|
| Progress report | None | Unknown |
