Communication & labelling

The power of communication

Brand communication can be a powerful force for behaviour change. Through it, we have the opportunity to promote healthy lifestyles among our millions of consumers.

At the same time we have a duty to market our products responsibly and provide our consumers with clear and simple information about the products we make and how they can fit into a healthy and balanced diet.

Improving consumer information

We provide clear, simple labelling on our products to help consumers make choices for a nutritionally balanced diet.

Our nutrition labelling policy applies to all our products and commits us to provide information on:

• eight key nutrients on our packs (energy, protein, carbohydrates, sugars, fat, saturated fat, fibre and sodium)

• nutrition on a per portion or per 100 g/ml basis

• calorie content on the front of packs, either as a total amount or as a proportion of guideline daily amounts (GDA).

Regulations and norms on nutrition labelling vary between countries. In Europe, as part of a voluntary CIAA (Confederation of Food and Drink Industries of the European Union) initiative, we already exceed requirements by committing to show guideline daily amounts (GDA) percentages for five key nutrients on packs. By the end of 2009, more than 90% of our eligible products had achieved this. Implementation plans are in place for the remainder.

In Australia, we follow the CIAA approach. In the UK, along with all major manufacturers and most retailers, we mark GDA on the front of packs too.

Choices front-of-pack stamp

Unilever co-founded the Choices Programme in 2006, creating a front-of-pack stamp to help consumers identify healthier products and stimulate the food industry to develop healthy options. Today, Choices is governed by an independent foundation.

An independent scientific committee also regularly reviews the benchmarks that make a product eligible for the stamp. In 2009, the Committee developed its first set of global criteria, which take into account international dietary recommendations for saturated and trans fat, sugar and salt, and in some categories, fibre and energy.

Today, the Choices stamp can be found on some 4 500 products from more than 130 manufacturers, retailers and caterers.

Encouraging behaviour change

Targeted marketing and advertising campaigns can promote behaviour change, encouraging consumers to adopt healthy habits. Many of our brands run these campaigns aiming to raise awareness and encourage change.

In early 2009 Unilever and the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS), a leading NGO, announced a three-year partnership aimed at communicating scientifically based nutrition principles to the public, while developing future leaders in nutrition and health.

Promoting heart health

In 2009 Unilever and the World Heart Federation launched Heart Age, a powerful new online tool that uses diet and lifestyle facts such as weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking to estimate heart health.

A heart age higher than a person's actual age can be a powerful spur to action and the tool offers users a free three-month diet and lifestyle plan.

This project combines scientific research with our marketing expertise and consumer insights to make an impact on one of the world’s most prevalent diseases – cardiovascular disease.

More than 1.5 million people have taken the Heart Age test since its launch. Flora/Becel aims for 100 million people to take the test by 2020 and lower the ‘heart age’ of those on the diet and lifestyle plan by three years on average.

This is the latest of a number of programmes that Becel/Flora has carried out on promoting heart health.

In 2008, for example, Becel in Canada became the founding sponsor of the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation's Heart Truth initiative. The campaign specifically aimed to reach women through TV advertisements and sponsorship of the Red Dress Fashion Show. In three months, awareness of heart disease among women nearly doubled.

In the UK and Ireland, Flora has worked with cholesterol charity HEART UK on a range of initiatives. Results from Flora pro.activ Testing the Nation roadshows were analysed and published in the 'International Journal of Clinical Practice' in 2008 by Oxford University under the auspices of HEART UK. The findings helped to inform the development of national policy on cardiovascular health including the government's new vascular risk check programme for everyone from 40–75 years. See the Flora Hearts website in related links for more.

Change4 Life

In the UK, Flora is participating in the UK government’s Change4 Life programme, which aims to prevent people from becoming overweight by encouraging them to eat better and exercise more. Flora has supported this programme in a variety of ways such as picnic activities across 100 Asda stores as part of Asda’s Picnic Week in August 2009.

Sharing mealtimes

The ‘Power of Mealtimes’ campaign is a global initiative created by Knorr, our savoury food products brand, to inspire more families to share more meals together. Research shows that the act of sharing a meal can have wide-ranging social, nutritional and well-being benefits.

Knorr partnered with Dr Claude Fischler and Dr France Bellisle – experts in sociology and human food intake and behaviour – to undertake a global study exploring the factors affecting modern mealtimes across the world. The study revealed a significant decline in the number of shared quality meals around the world.

Knorr’s campaign reminds people about the many benefits of shared mealtimes and how these can help improve people’s lives.

Responsible marketing

Our marketing and advertising helps us tell people about the benefits of our products and innovations. At the same time, our marketing can influence consumer choices so we need to advertise and market our products responsibly. Advertising food products to children has become an issue of particular concern.

Our approach:

• we have a set of Food and Beverage Marketing Principles, which provide guidance to our brand managers

• these principles prohibit any advertising to children under the age of six. Advertising to children aged six to 12 is limited to products that meet strict nutritional criteria

• we also have specific guidelines for school education programmes to ensure that food products will not be promoted as part of these programmes

• we do not use size zero models or actors in any of our marketing and advertising. We only use models/actors who have a body mass index between 18.5 and 25 in our advertising, in line with United Nations guidance on what is considered healthy

• we have participated in industry-wide pledges on marketing to children in the EU, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Russia, Thailand and the US. These pledges are in line with our own commitments.

In May 2008 Unilever was presented with the AED Corporate Leadership Award by the Academy for Eating Disorders in recognition for our responsible marketing campaign in advancing the awareness and treatment of eating disorders.

In 2009, with other member companies of the International Food and Beverage Alliance, we made a series of commitments to the World Health Organization (WHO), including responsible advertising to children. IFBA members jointly commissioned Accenture to audit adherence to our marketing principles. In 2009, the audit covered 11 countries.

Accurate health claims on products are essential to building consumer trust. Our process for reviewing and making claims ensures that they are based on rigorous scientific evidence and are externally checked. In 2009 the European Union formally approved Unilever’s claim that the active ingredient in its Flora/Becel pro.activ products is proven to lower blood cholesterol. Lowering blood cholesterol may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.