FDBusiness.com

The amount of sugar in Nestlé’s UK and Irish products has been reduced by more than 2.6 billion teaspoons since 2015 thanks to an ongoing, intensive programme of innovation and reformulation. A report, issued by Nestlé, reveals that more than 60 billion calories have also been removed from Nestlé UK & Ireland’s portfolio in the same time period.

Last March, Nestlé announced that it had pledged to cut sugar across its confectionery portfolio by 10% by the end of 2018 and has already hit a reduction of 7.4%.

Elsewhere, Nestlé breakfast cereals is also working hard to reduce average sugar by 10% across its portfolio by the end of the year while Nestlé Waters has announced that Sanpellegrino sparkling fruit based beverages will see a 40% reduction in sugar in the coming months.

Two years of hard work behind the Sanpellegrino reformulation has meant that, following an initial 10% reduction of the total sugar content in 2015, the latest recipes will contain approximately 40% less sugar. The change, incorporating stevia to replace a proportion of the original added sugar, has been carefully managed to ensure that the unmistakeable taste remains and thorough taste tests have resulted in very positive feedback.

Stefano Agostini, chief executive of Nestlé UK & Ireland, says: “Our work towards these achievements is actually as much about taste as it is about reducing sugar and calories. It is not as simple as just removing sugar from a product, the skill is in making that product taste just as good or, ideally, better. We have an unrivalled research and development network across the globe that makes this possible.

“People love our food and drink and our confectionery, cereals, ice creams and other products are enjoyed as part of a balanced, healthy diet by people all across the world. What we can do, through research and development, is improve them in both taste and nutrition over time.”

Nestlé UK & Ireland’s report on the improvements made to its product portfolio carries commentary from senior leaders within its business as well as focusing on some of the biggest examples of reformulation to reduce sugar and calories in its famous brands over the last three years including KitKat, Milkybar, Cheerios and the latest changes to Sanpellegrino.

These developments are just the latest in Nestlé’s long history of reformulation and initiatives designed to improve products and contribute to a healthier future.