Nourishing the nation
This week’s blog covers something that’s really shaking up our industry: diets — and IGD’s new ‘Framework for Population Diet Change’.
I think this is a huge deal, and not just because of the health implications, but because it shows us a new way to drive commercial growth.
The truth is, as an industry, we’re not exactly winning on the health front. Kirsty Saddler from IGD pointed out that less than 0.1% of UK adults are actually following all the recommendations in the Eatwell Guide.
People want to eat healthier and more sustainably, but they often find it too “costly, complex and inconvenient”. We all know that feeling, right? The solutions exist within our sector, but we haven’t been using them consistently or integrating them enough to really “turn the tide”.
That’s where this framework comes in. It’s a roadmap that links health and sustainability, which is smart because those two things are essential to the future of the food system. For example, shifting to sustainable diets could cut our food-related emissions by 30% , while healthier consumer baskets could reduce the massive £116 billion we lose annually in productivity from diet-related chronic diseases.
The framework gives us seven practical levers to use:
- Value case (which we just discussed).
- Business integration: this means making it a core commercial priority with proper KPIs and cross-functional teams
- Data: we need to embed nutrition data right alongside sales data and share SKU-level environmental metrics to guide commercial decisions
- Supply chain: it’s about creating true farm-to-fork partnerships and shared metrics to protect against market volatility
- Innovation: this is where we ensure the health and environmental impact are considered right next to margin when developing new products or technologies
- Consumer behaviour: smart nudging — using placement, promotions, and marketing to steer customers towards healthier choices both in-store and digitally
- Policy & sector alignment: we need to work together on consistent reporting and joined-up policy implementation to avoid chaos.
Kirsty Saddler believes these seven levers are “proven to work” by leaders in the sector.
She argues that this isn’t just theory, but one way to create tangible benefits for businesses, consumers, and the planet. It’s also about moving from sporadic efforts to a connected, long-term system. I think it’s time we all dig into the full report and figure out how to put these levers to work. What lever do you think will be the toughest for your team to pull?
Rodney Jack, editor, Food & Drink Technology.
Keep in touch via email: [email protected] Twitter: @foodanddrinktec or LinkedIn: Food & Drink Technology magazine.
