Nestlé has launched a raft of healthier products in recent years, including a ‘Simple’ version of Shreddies with just four ingredients. It has also reduced the sugar and salt content in many of its well known brands including San Pellegrino drinks and Maggi instant noodles.
However, new healthier launches have not always gone to plan: the slimmed down Shreddies were ditched by Nestlé after just one year on the market.
Nestlé last September vowed to increase sales from what it called “more nutritious” products by 50pc by 2030, following a Financial Times report in 2021 which said Nestlé had acknowledged a significant portion of its products would not meet a “recognised definition of health” in an internal presentation circulated among executives.
However, LGIM argued last October that because Nestlé’s commitment was broadly in line with the company’s growth predictions, there might be no improvement in the impact of the food it sells on public health if sales of unhealthier products also increased at a similar rate.
Nestlé is the world’s biggest food manufacturer, with revenues of 93bn Swiss Francs (£82bn) in 2023.
Confectionery accounts for almost 10pc of its business, accounting for 8.1bn Swiss Francs (£7.2bn) in 2023 revenues.
Milk products and ice creams accounted for around 12pc of its business, worth 11bn Swiss Francs (£9.8bn).
Ms Ortino said: “We are not saying that they should divest from their confectionary business at all, and I think we’ve made it very clear to them.”
