Nestlé is changing the way it reports to investors and the wider market on the make-up of its sales and how healthy they are.
In a LinkedIn post, Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe said the company will provide additional data “aligned with the scope” of the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNi), starting from its next non-financial report.
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The Swiss food giant will also introduce a “sales weighted average” metric for both specific product categories and its entire portfolio, Freixe added.
He confirmed Nestlé will continue to use the Health Star Rating (HSR) system, endorsed by governments in Australia and New Zealand, as the “basis” of its nutrition profiling.
The move has been “welcomed” by lobby group ShareAction, which has in the past been critical of how Nestlé measures and reports on the make-up of its sales.
ShareAction said Nestle had not been following the HSR guidance on what products should be excluded from its reporting, including coffee products. The company will continue to report separately on its specialized nutrition, pet care and pure coffee product ranges, but it will also provide a breakdown of the healthiness of its remaining sales, in line with ATNi guidelines.
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By GlobalDataGarance Boullenger, healthy markets initiative lead at ShareAction, said: “What investors want now is to see Nestlé set an ambitious target to sell more healthier food. With a tangible commitment in place, the food giant could reassure its investors that it is working to adapt its business away from its current risky over-reliance on unhealthy products.”
In a statement, Nestlé disclosed that products with a Health Star Rating of 3.5 and above made up 38% of its net sales in 2024 without pet care and non-food products, compared to 30% with them.
Products with a Health Star Rating between 1.5 and 3.5 represented 20% of net sales without, and 16% with pet care and non-food products. Products with a rating below 1.5 accounted for 21% of net sales without, and 17% with pet care and non-food products.
The KitKat chocolate and Maggi sauce owner said it is aiming to increase the sales of more nutritious products by SFr20–25bn ($24.22-30.28bn) by 2030.
In March 2023, the company committed to benchmarking its products against the HSR system, moving away from a proprietary internal methodology.
At that time, Nestlé reported that 37% of product sales (excluding pet food) reached an HSR score of 3.5 or higher in 2022. The figure increased to 57% when specialised nutrition products, such as infant formula, were included.
Despite welcoming the increased transparency, at the time ShareAction criticised the company saying it is “still far too reliant on the sale of less healthy food and drink products”.
Later that year, a group of investors, co-ordinated by ShareAction, accused the Cerelac baby food maker of having a “flawed approach” as it sought to increase the sales of its healthier products.
ShareAction also raised concerns over Nestlé’s classification of certain products – such as coffee and baby foods – as nutritious, despite these items not being subject to government-endorsed nutrient profiling models.
In March last year, a coalition of shareholders coordinated by ShareAction filed a resolution, urging Nestlé to “dramatically improve” the proportion of healthy products in its sales.
The resolution called for the company to set a target based on an internationally recognised standard.
However, it was rejected by a majority of shareholders during the annual general meeting in April, with only 11% voting in favour.
