We are at a tipping point in the relationship between food and health. Americans are handing over their health needs to the food and beverage industry, and Big Food companies are making massive investments and food portfolio adjustments because they see the next major consumer trend as health. As happened with organic ideals and regulations, Big Food’s entry into the health arena means they are redefining “healthy” foods and are positioning themselves to capture this lasting market. Big Food companies have shifted messaging towards nutrition, acquired diet and health companies, and entered the pharmaceutical industry. Now more than ever, protecting public health requires garnering attention and effectively changing eating behavior.
Download the 68 page report (5MB PDF)
Consumers make a strategic choice, whether consciously or unconsciously, to eat manufactured foods for convenience and in pursuit of their ideal of “health.” American consumers are being trained to relate to beloved, iconic, global brands as trusted partners in their food and their health. However, the perception that health can be attained through conveniently packaged bottles, snack bars, and squeeze bags lures American consumers away from practices of real health. With metabolic syndrome skyrocketing, consumers pursue convenience, taste, and the vision of health as proffered by Big Food to the detriment of their real health. Americans remain largely unhealthy, overweight, and undernourished by their food.
Declining American health and increasing concern about the future of our food system has turned public attention to food manufacturing and distribution processes. With over 100 years experience, Big Food companies are multibillion dollar and multinational successes. In the process, they have learned valuable lessons about winning market share and shifting our eating behavior. This paper reviews how Big Food uses marketing strategies, advances their concerns at a policy level, and conducts consumer behavior research to sell their products. Utilizing the strategies that Big Food has so effectively employed to shape our eating paradigm can aid whole food and public health proponents to shape an effective and sophisticated response. The seven key lessons from Big Food:
Define winning
Build a shared vision
Unify
Understand the consumer
Promote an aspirational lifestyle
Play every angle
Commit to long-term change
While most adults have had experience eating whole food during their childhood, many of today’s children, especially in urban areas, have little such experience. Their eating experience is almost entirely comprised of fast food, manufactured food, and snack food, both at school and at home. In order to positively impact food choices and improve the health of Americans, we must teach children to love and enjoy whole food, and we must do so in a way that competes effectively with the messaging and lifestyle promoted by major brands.
Reshaping our society’s relationship to food means forging a common vision and shifting our thinking paradigm about the approach to achieving that vision. Resources, both financial and human, have typically been divided across organizations with their own visions and strategies. However, aligning these committed organizations into a common vision can increase their impact. While America sits on the tipping point of handing over its health aspirations to Big Food, we still have the opportunity to interrupt Big Food’s momentum and win back attention for a real health approach to eating.