Positive nutrition and fortification

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Nature’s kitchen

The nutritious ingredients in many of our products provide the micronutrients, protein or fibre that people need as part of a balanced diet. We try to pack in as many seasonal fruits and vegetables as we can, as well as beans and pulses, wholegrains and healthy oils. Vegetables like tomatoes, pumpkins, lentils and onions are hero ingredients in many Knorr products. And each year, we provide more than 100 billion servings of vegetables through these options.

The UN recognised the importance of good nutrition by naming 2021 the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. Our products continue to help people eat more vegetables: Healthy habits, nutritious diets explains how our campaigns are encouraging people to eat nutritiously. For example, Knorr won a Dutch Advertising Association award for its Veggies taste amazing! campaign, and due to its success, we’ve extended it to the US, Spain and Germany.

But we want to go further as we believe everyone deserves good food.

Future Foods

We’re raising nutritional standards across our Nutrition and Ice Cream portfolios through our new Future Foods commitments which are part of our Unilever Compass goals for positive nutrition.

At the end of 2021, 41% of our portfolio was in line with our Positive Nutrition Standards. To meet our goal of doubling, we need to reach 54% by 2025.

Eat for good with Knorr Future 50 Foods

Knorr’s goal is to get food that is good for people and the planet onto 7 billion plates by 2025.

Healthy habits, nutritious diets explains more about our Future 50 Foods campaign. We’re busy creating new products that feature the Future 50 Foods. By 2025, 25% of Knorr’s portfolio will contain Future 50 ingredients, like our new South African Knorr Cup-a-Snack with mung beans and lentils mixed with different vegetables for delicious flavours.

Locking in goodness

By picking vegetables and grains at their peak and drying them gently, we’re able to lock in their nutrient goodness.

For instance, our Knorr dried vegetable soups deliver up to 290 g of vegetables per serving – more than half of the World Health Organization-recommended daily amount of fruit and vegetables. Our Knorr meal kits also encourage consumers to eat more vegetables and try new ingredients, including flexitarian and vegetarian alternatives. In the Netherlands, 2,200 consumers named our Knorr Meal Trips meal kits as Product of the Year 2021.

But it’s not just Knorr that’s helping people to access nutritious ingredients.

The benefits of tea

After water, the world’s most popular drink is tea. Our brands, such as Lipton, Brooke Bond and Pure Leaf, are all made from tea leaves.

We know that tea uniquely contains both theanine and caffeine, and is a rich source of flavonoids which are linked to health benefits like a healthy heart. In the US, as a result of studies showing this, we received approval to display the Healthy Heart logo on all our Lipton green and black teas – Healthy habits, nutritious diets explains more.

In response to people’s growing concerns about health and immunity, we’re launching new products with a focus on both taste and goodness. Lipton’s Green Tea Watermelon and Green Tea White Peach in the US, for instance, both carry the claim ‘with 100% daily value antioxidant vitamin C per 12 fl oz’. And they comply with our Highest Nutritional Standards (HNS).

We’ve also introduced Lipton Grape Sijichun, a powdered drink, which is a source of vitamin C, and Lipton Oat-based milk teas in peach oolong, cocoa black tea and jasmine white tea, which are low fat, low sugar and rich in dietary fibre.

And, for more than ten years, Brooke Bond’s Red Label Natural Care immunity-boosting tea has been a trusted beacon.

More new products, more positive nutrition

All over the world, we’re introducing new products with a focus on nutrition as well as flavour. In Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland, for instance, we’ve introduced the next generation of Knorr dry soups, produced with natural ingredients, carefully selected herbs and spices, and containing extra-large pieces of mushrooms and vegetables for an intense aroma. The grains and pulses in these soups provide a nourishing source of protein and fibre, offering a delicious, balanced meal, ready in just ten minutes.

In Brazil, we’re increasing the number of wholegrain products available by expanding our portfolio of Mãe Terra, Maizena and Knorr products, like cookies and breakfast cereals. We also introduced Knorr Future 50-powered mixes of dried beans and pastas with grains and vegetables. And in Europe, Knorr launched the first pulse-based pastas, including Knorr Activ Wholegrain Spirals with Green Pesto and Knorr Activ Veggie Wheat Lentil Mediterranean. These are a source of fibre and protein.

Some of our ice creams are also a good source of dietary fibre and protein and we’re expanding our ranges to offer consumers a greater selection to choose from.

In China, we’ve introduced So Good Yoghurt and Banana flavour ice cream, which is low fat and rich in dietary fibre and complies with our HNS. Our new So Good Oat flavour ice cream is also rich in dietary fibre.

Breyers has launched its Dairy-Free Caramel & Pecan ice cream – which is also a source of protein and fibre – in Germany, Poland and Austria. Like all the products in the range, it contains less than 330 kilocalories per pint and no added sugar.

Health is still needlessly damaged by micronutrient deficiency

Despite efforts to eat well and combat malnutrition around the world, around a quarter of the population are still affected by micronutrient deficiency. From anaemia to pregnancy-related issues, health is damaged simply by the lack of a few micronutrients, such as iron and iodine.

The good news is it’s fixable.

The WHO and leading economists have identified food fortification as one of the most cost-effective approaches to meeting people’s nutritional needs. Fortification is when small and safe amounts of essential micronutrients are added to foods that are eaten regularly.

We’ve prioritised both fortification and positive nutrition to help people get the nutrients they need.

Fortification: a force for good

Every single day, we sell millions of servings of fortified products, including seasonings, bouillons, soups, sauces, tea and ice cream.

These servings include at least 15% of the recommended daily amount for nutrients, in line with regulations. We offer fortified foods at an affordable price, develop products using good ingredients like vegetables, fruits, dairy and vegetable oils to support more diverse diets, and promote nutritious cooking – we’ve set out our latest position statement on fortification (PDF 126.38 KB) .

By the end of 2022, we’re aiming to provide more than 200 billion servings with at least one of the five key micronutrients, vitamin A, D, iodine, iron and zinc. So far, we’ve delivered over 161 billion servings towards this commitment.

Our Global Diet & Health team, for instance, developed our internal plant-based meat standards, in line with global recommendations, such as from the WHO. This includes ensuring a minimum of 15% Nutrient Reference Values (NRV) per serving for micronutrients like iron and vitamin B12. This means when people eat any of our meat alternatives, like The Vegetarian Butcher’s Little Peckers, Patty on the Back, or Chickened Out Burger, they can be guaranteed of our high nutrition standards.

We’ve been recognised for our workin addressing undernutrition as a strong focus of our commercial strategy. We’ve produced a series of infographics (PDF | 6MB) explaining how we’re providing essential micronutrients to help other food companies looking to fortify their products.

And to step up efforts to tackle malnutrition, we’re pushing for change across the food system. See Our nutrition philosophy and approach for more on our advocacy efforts.

Five critical micronutrients for better health

There are five key micronutrients for better health – these are iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A and vitamin D. We provide a range of fortified products to help people access these micronutrients. We also run programmes to inspire people to cook using our fortified products, to help them achieve better health.

Our Knorr My Green Food Steps programme, for example, encourages more people to cook with Knorr cubes and other vegetable ingredients high in iron. A study concluded that this can successfully raise awareness of anaemia and change cooking habits to help increase iron intake. We’ve also started a similar programme, called Get your iron up! in Kenya, where we sell almost 1.2 billion packs of iron and iodine-fortified bouillons a year.

More fortified products

From fortified porridges to bouillons and meat replacements, our products are helping millions of consumers to boost their nutrition.

The iodine initiative

Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) can have a big impact on child development, especially in the first 1,000 days from conception. So it’s important to reach women of childbearing age and pregnant women with iodine fortification and education.

In Indonesia, for instance, Royco (Knorr) is the first food brand that’s championing iodine to support growth and development. We’re committed to fighting malnutrition for a better future generation with strong products, strong programmes and strong partners.

Ice cream treats with goodness

All our kids’ ice creams are responsibly developed, complying with our Highest Nutritional Standards. This means they are all limited in the amount of sugar and saturated fat they can contain, and must be below 110 kcals per serving – in fact, more than half of our kids’ ice creams are below 60 kcals per serving. We consulted parents who told us that we’d done a good job in reducing calories. Next, getting more goodness into occasional ice cream treats was their priority. The fruit and milk in our ice creams (containing calcium and vitamins, especially vitamin D) provide reassurance that their kids can enjoy an occasional treat that is limited in calories and provides goodness – and, of course, is delicious.

After we received this feedback, we introduced several ice creams with added goodness in 2021, such as vitamin C-containing Calippo Honey Lemon and Yakoo in Thailand, Choco Magma containing vitamin D in Indonesia, and Chocomilk with calcium and vitamins A and D in Mexico. In Poland, we also introduced Big Milk Mini kids’ ice cream in three flavours, which are rich in calcium, and Minion ice cream made with bananas (and a source of calcium) in Brazil.

As well as being responsibly developed, all our children’s ice creams are responsibly communicated and responsibly advertised.