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Making Tough Business Decisions to Meet Our Commitments
Nestlé is passionate about living out our commitment to Nutrition, Health and Wellness, and our sweet treats are no exception.
We’re on a continuous Nutrition, Health and Wellness journey across our entire food and beverage portfolio. Our goal is to help people enjoy candy in moderation as part of a balanced and active lifestyle.
While it may seem counterintuitive to mention candy when we talk about our commitment to nutrition, here’s why it’s not. One of the ways in which we are supporting moderation is through right-sizing portions and including portion guidance messaging on our packages. That journey has led us to making tough decisions for our business.
In last year’s report, we made a commitment that by 2014, 100% of our foods and beverages that are more often consumed by children will meet the Nestlé Nutritional Foundation (NNF) criteria. When we looked at our portfolio, there were some items that didn’t make the cut, including GIANT PIXY STIX®.
While we wanted to keep offering this beloved brand to our consumers, we had to make the tough decision to change the 1.0- and 0.5-ounce Giant Pixy Stix to a smaller portion and risk losing sales. Being a treat primarily enjoyed by kids, the sugar content was too high to meet NNF criteria.
To solve this dilemma, we relied on leading consumer behavior scientist Brian Wansink’s research* and our packaging experts to design a new straw to ensure that PIXY STIX® straws meet our NNF criteria, while still being an enjoyable treat. We achieved our commitment by creating a new 0.42-ounce serving, which also meant that we reduced the amount of sugar in Pixy Stix straws from 26 grams to 10 grams per serving. Confectionery will always be a category of foods consumers enjoy, and our ambition is to help them enjoy sweet treats responsibly and with the right portion in mind.
Discontinuing the 1.0- and 0.5-ounce Giant Pixy Stix offerings and replacing them with smaller packaging was a decision with real business impact. However, it is the right thing to do for our consumers and it is these kinds of decisions that will help us achieve our global Nutrition, Health and Wellness vision.
We knew that these changes to improve our performance on nutrition would be disruptive to our business. And they have been. But when we make a commitment to improve the nutritional profile of our products, we do what we can to keep that promise.