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Driving progress: making good childhood nutrition a reality everywhere

Our Nutrition business head shares Nestlé's approach to delivering the best nutrition to babies and young children around the world

Mom holding a child

When I started my 'Nestlé life' more than thirty years ago in Brazil, I had no idea the opportunity I’d later have to impact global nutrition positively.

Now, I lead our global Nutrition business, with colleagues from all around the world. We're connected by a deep sense of responsibility and purpose: We know that what children eat in early life impacts their future growth and development.

So, we need to get it right.  

We aim to lead the way in early childhood nutrition. But in recent weeks, we've seen some tough headlines that question whether we live up to this purpose everywhere, or only in certain countries. We've faced allegations about how we've been serving babies and young children around the world. We take this matter extremely seriously. No matter where our products are, we're committed to offering top-quality food, delivering high nutrition standards, and supporting efforts that make a positive contribution to child health. Here are the steps we take as a company to deliver on our commitment in a diverse global context:

1. Establish the fundamentals and ensure we deliver good nutrition everywhere

Nestlé pioneered the early childhood nutrition category, when Henri Nestlé created a milk-based food, in 1867, to save a baby's life. That heritage plays a huge role in how our team around the world approaches our business, and we carry that purpose forward with passion.

We set a consistent standard for our early childhood nutrition products everywhere we operate. Any time we're developing or renovating a product, we first prioritize the core nutrition that's needed. We always start with the science. Together with our colleagues in our R&D department, as well as with insights from external pediatricians and researchers, we work to provide age-appropriate, sound nutrition. Quality and safety are non-negotiable.

No matter where our products are, we set a consistent standard to offer top-quality nutrition.

Serena

Many infants do not receive adequate nutrients for their healthy growth and development, due to inadequate alternatives to breastmilk or during their transition to solid foods. Our global nutrition standards help ensure that young children get needed nutrition elements like protein, carbohydrates, and minerals like iron through fortified offerings.

Sugar is another important area for us to enforce global guidance. Here, our approach is clear: We have no added sugar in infant formula. For so-called 'growing-up milks,' for infants 1-3 years old, we've already been working to reduce added refined sugars. Today, more than 90% of these milks have zero refined sugar, and we're working to reach 100% by the end of 2024. We've also been reducing the added sugars in our infant cereals worldwide gradually, year after year. For these infant cereals, we have strict internal rules, setting a maximum threshold for added sugar that's much lower than the limit set out under the international standards of the Codex Alimentarius, or 'Food Code,' established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

2. Head to the same destination, in the way that works best locally

After we lay a strong nutrition foundation for every product, we consider another element: how do we make sure those nutrients are accepted by the little mouths that need them? Will parents and caregivers embrace the product? Basically, will the product actually get eaten? That can be a matter of taste, texture, how the food is prepared, or compatibility with local ingredients and food cultures of the parents and caregivers.

When I first moved from Brazil to Switzerland, my older son was 18 months old. All of a sudden, there were different products on the shelf in my local grocery store. It was a struggle to get him to adapt to new tastes. He was used to the food options in Brazil: our fruits, cereals, and style of cooking. I remember countless calls near tears with my family members and with our pediatrician. These are tough moments that every parent goes through.

To have the product accepted, we need to localize and customize. No recipe is one-size-fits-all across every country.

Serena

I'll always think of that experience when working with our teams to make sure our foods are locally relevant and well accepted by young children. In the Nordics, we offer many apple options. Since it's a fruit that's consistent with local diets, it's embraced by parents and their babies alike. In Brazil, typical foods and flavors look more like what my sons were used to, like tropical fruits. But one thing is constant: The nutritional foundation is never compromised. To have the product accepted, we need to localize and customize. No recipe is one-size-fits-all across every country.

That customized approach is also key for us as we continuously engage on and evolve our offerings. When developing products, the team works locally to identify nutrition and acceptance needs, and they develop our local products to address those specific needs. Many of our in-country teams are advancing their journey in locally effective ways, always ensuring our steps are compatible with local regulations, food cultures, ingredients, and preferences:

  • In many countries, including across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, millions of children are impacted by micronutrient deficiencies. Fortification with zinc, calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium in early childhood food products is especially important there to help fight micronutrient malnutrition.
  • In India, the team has made amazing progress on a range of areas. Over the past 5 years, they've already reduced added sugars by 30% in their local infant cereals and are working to go further.
  • And in Brazil, along with many other parts of the world, our teams have introduced more and more zero-added-sugar options in their cereals for young children, like Mucilon de Cereais com Quinoa, so that parents can choose the product that's right for them. We're also working in many other countries to expand the range of choices, including offering zero-added sugar options in new places.

3. Continue the journey. Our work to drive the best early childhood nutrition is never done

At Nestlé, we constantly ask ourselves how we can better support every family, everywhere, to deliver the best childhood nutrition. It motivates us each day as we work together with researchers and partners to advance balanced nutrition and improve our products.  This is a journey that doesn't stop. We evolve with the families we serve and with the latest scientific insights.

The beauty of early childhood nutrition – and of the role of the caregiver – is that we have more similarities than differences. Whether we're in Jacksonville or Johannesburg, we see that parents and caregivers share a mission to deliver good nutrition to children.  

Our role is to support that mission across diverse contexts: food is deeply cultural, and the future of food is increasingly local, customized, and personal. We’re committed to continuing to engage, exchange, and evolve, working together with global experts and local partners. Diets and nutritional needs vary, and we must continue to adapt to provide high-quality nutrition for infants and young children everywhere we operate.