US: PepsiCo eyes continued health and functional innovation

PepsiCo has told just-drinks that it expects to benefit from "significant" investment in functional and healthy food and beverages in all markets, as Governments seek to tighten restrictions on the marketing of 'junk foods and beverages' to children.

Speaking exclusively to just-drinks yesterday (16 August), Derek Yach, senior vice president of global health policy for PepsiCo, said that the group has set itself nutrition targets to meet the increasing global focus on reducing childhood obesity.

"You can argue that every time there is a restriction on marketing or the composition of products - ie lowering sugar or salt - the companies that are going to benefit in the long term are those that are going to see the potential for enormous innovation and invest in it significantly, which is what we are doing," Yach said.

"It is about making sure that the marketing today ... is increasingly targeted towards healthier lifestyles and healthier eating," he added.

Governments around the world are looking to regulate how certain food and beverages are sold and marketed. In Mexico, for example, the government is preparing legislation to curb the sale of high-sugar and fatty products from the country's schools, as well as limiting how companies advertise their products.

In May, US First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled a plan calling on food and drinks manufacturers to curb the marketing of unhealthy products to children in a bid to tackle the problem of childhood obesity in the country.

Yach said PepsiCo supports the US government's plan but emphasised that the company has also set out its own nutrition targets. These include increasing the amount of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds in its product portfolio, and reducing sodium by 25% in key global brands.

"We are gearing up for these targets in very substantial ways, it is a core business activity supported by the CEO [Indra Nooyi] herself," Yach said.

He added that PepsiCo has different levels of innovation across the spectrum and added that, as science evolves, so too may its targets and product development.

"It goes across the board," he continued. "We are firstly having to address reducing the concerns of nutrients ... then we can get on with developing some of the enhancements and the added benefits that do improve functional aspects of some people's lives. Food and beverage companies, and even pharmaceutical companies are beavering away because the quality of science is just getting better year-by-year.