The Swiss food and beverage conglomerate Nestle SA (SWX: NESN) is facing scrutiny of its product portfolio after an internal document, cited by the Financial Times on Monday, deemed 60% of its products unhealthy.
Although the report excluded half of the largest food producers’ portfolio, including infant and pet nutrition or coffee, CEO Mark Schneider sees necessity in revisiting the company’s strategy.
Nestle has announced in a statement, that they are reviewing its food and beverage portfolio against independent nutrition profiling systems such as Nutri-Score to allow consumers to make better informed purchase decisions. The assessment will include package labeling, portion size guidance and nutritional information.
After criticism by the hedge fund Third Point Management in 2018, Nestle already made portfolio updates by discarding its U.S. confectionery unit, downsizing its ice cream segment, selling european meat producer Herta, and expanding in pet food, coffee, supplements, and vitamins.
Despite these efforts, Nestle has more to do to satisfy consumer demands amid increasing health and nutrition concerns. According to the World Health Organization, obesity has almost tripled since 1975 while diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980.