Company overview
Nestlé was founded in Switzerland in 1866, today it has grown to be the leading company promoting Nutrition, Health, and Wellness. Nestlé’s purpose is to “unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come”.
In 1874, “NESTLÉ’S EAGLE BRAND®” condensed milk was granted the first trademark in Hong Kong. Today, Nestle Hong Kong has become one of the leading food and beverage companies in Hong Kong and our diversified range of businesses includes dairy products, yoghurt products, breakfast cereal, baby and toddler food, coffee, bottled and canned beverages, confectionary, ice cream and chilled desserts, soya products, culinary, pet care and healthcare nutrition products, etc. This provides consumers with a wide range of options for nutritional, healthy and safe high-quality products.
The social issue
Nutrition is a foundation stone for health. Good nutrition is a critical part of every infant and mother’s health. It contributes to stronger immune systems, a lower risk of non-communicable diseases and greater longevity. Some places, however, currently face the triple burden of malnutrition, undernutrition, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and obesity. Consequently, people are seeking guidance to achieve a balanced diet, age-appropriate portions, and nutritious eating.
In Hong Kong, the Department of Health’s Student Health Service found during the 2016/2017 school year that one in five primary students in Hong Kong were overweight or obese (Reference: https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/healthy/fitness/over.html).
The shared value strategy
As a leading company in promoting Nutrition, Health and Wellness, Nestlé believes that it can also help reduce the global burden of non-communicable diseases by promoting balanced and adequate diets at every stage of life. Nestlé has therefore been running, since 2009, the global initiative Nestlé for Healthier Kids Programme (“N4HK Programme”, previously named as Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme), which aims to bring together all their efforts to support parents and caregivers to raise healthier kids and to inspire children themselves.
Creating healthy products, and reformulating products to make them healthier and nutritious is one way Nestlé is fulfilling this ambition. Nestlé has been accelerating the transformation of their product portfolio to ensure their brands support healthier lifestyles and meet today’s nutritional needs of children. In Hong Kong, their NESTLE® DAIRY FARM® yoghurt cups fulfill their internal nutrition criteria as well as the EU Pledge and can be a nutritious snack for kids to choose occasionally.
In addition to product transformation, through their campaigns and initiatives, Nestlé also shares knowledge on the benefits of healthy lifestyles in the hope that the children will take that into adulthood. With this same rationale, Nestlé Hong Kong worked with the Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion (CHEHP) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong to run a three-year school education initiative under N4HK Programme in six primary schools, which benefitted 500 students.
During the programme period, the CHEHP collaborated with participating schools to organize 30 education activities for students as well as their parents and teachers across the critical growth period of the participating students when they were in primary 4 to 6. CHEHP also conducted annual health survey and fitness test for the students to gather baseline, interim and final data for reference and follow-up on the effectiveness of the Programme.
Concluding the programme in 2017-2020, Nestlé Hong Kong and the CHEHP were delighted to observe an improvement in the students’ dietary and health habits. This reflected the effectiveness of various school-based education activities themed on healthy eating in enhancing students’ health.
Future outlook
In view of that, the first N4HK Programme delivered a positive impact in Hong Kong, Nestlé Hong Kong and the CHEHP announced a further partnership on the second N4HK Programme in 2021-2024, expecting to enhance the nutrition and health of more students.
By improving nutrition through the promotion of greater awareness, improved knowledge and the effective practice of healthy eating and regular physical activity, Nestlé Hong Kong hopes to create positive value for both the society and their shareholders.
Societal Benefits | Business Benefits |
|---|---|
Nurturing healthier kids – equipping children, parents, and caregivers with knowledge to improve children’s nutrition and health | Supporting future product transformation – leveraging the N4HK programme findings to identify additional nutritional needs of students and thus further improve the nutritional quality of the company’s food products |
| Strengthening family bonding – encouraging families to involve children at every stage of meal preparation, such as meal planning, food shopping, as well as enjoying the fun of eating together | Driving business revenue – offering products that meet children’s nutritional needs |
| Helping reduce the societal burden of non-communicable diseases such as obesity – promoting balanced and adequate diets at every stage of life | Cultivating future consumers – educating children and parents to make healthy food choices during different life stages, for which Nestlé’s products are one of their healthy options |
