Last year, we shared our commitment to remove Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors from our U.S. food and beverage portfolio. That commitment was part of something bigger: our ongoing effort to evolve in ways that matter to consumers—and to be transparent about the progress we’re making.
Today, I’m proud to share an update on that journey, what it represents, and where we’re going next.
At Nestlé USA, consumers are at the center of every decision we make. We know people expect more from the products they bring into their homes—great taste, trusted quality, ingredients they feel good about and value that fits their lives. They also want to understand more about the food and beverages they choose for themselves and their families.
Earning that trust isn’t a one-time action. It means continuing to listen, evolve and be clear about where we’re making progress. It also means anticipating where consumer expectations are headed—and making changes today to meet them. That’s what this work is about.
Completing the Removal of FD&C Colors
Last summer, we committed to accelerating the removal of FD&C colors from our U.S. food and beverage portfolio. Today, I’m proud to share that we have fully eliminated them.
Behind this milestone is thoughtful work to make these changes the right way. In the products where these ingredients were previously used, we removed or replaced them with alternatives—while maintaining the quality, taste and experience consumers expect. Food safety and quality remained central throughout that work, and our products continue to meet the highest standards.
What stands out most to me is how our teams approached this effort—with care, urgency and a deep understanding of our consumers. This work didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it builds on years of progress and the ongoing commitment of teams across our business to evolve recipes while protecting what people know and love.
Our Nesquik team, for example, moved quickly to evolve our recipes for strawberry-flavored offerings using colors from natural sources. And in just five months, our foodservice teams worked to thoughtfully transition more than 20 Nestlé Vitality beverage offerings to natural color sources—without compromising quality or taste.
Evolving our Recipes and Improving Transparency
Across our business, we’re working to evolve our recipes and provide greater transparency as we continue adapting to consumers’ needs and preferences.
We’re focused on making thoughtful changes, such as reducing added sugars where it makes sense. At the same time, less than 1% of our portfolio today contains high-fructose corn syrup, and we do not use aspartame across our U.S. portfolio. We’ve also been expanding low and zero sugar product options, with offerings like Coffee mate Zero Sugar Iced Coffees and Creamers.
Our focus is on prioritizing simple, high-quality ingredients. Our natural bliss dairy creamers are made with just four simple ingredients—milk, cream, sugar and natural flavor—and each can of Libby’s Pure Pumpkin is 100% pumpkin. Our California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) pizza is made with real cheese, no artificial flavors and a preservative-free crust. These are clear examples of how we can deliver simplicity without compromising quality or enjoyment.
At the same time, we’re working to make it easier for people to learn about our products. Through tools like SmartLabel, we’re expanding access to detailed product information—so consumers can quickly find what they’re looking for and make choices with confidence. For me, this is just as important as the work we’re doing on recipes. Transparency means not only making thoughtful changes, but making it easier to understand what’s in our products.
Expanding Choices to Meet Evolving Needs
As consumer needs continue to evolve, we’re also expanding choices that deliver great taste and meaningful functional and nutritional benefits.
A great example is Vital Pursuit, a line of frozen meals we developed to support the growing number of consumers using GLP-1 medications. These nutrient-dense meals are portion-aligned, high in protein and designed to fit modern eating habits for those focused on weight management.
This work extends across our portfolio. Vital Proteins offers collagen-based products for consumers seeking functional wellness support, while BOOST helps provide balanced nutrition including protein, essential vitamins and minerals to meet a range of nutritional needs.
These are just a few examples of how we continue to broaden choice and deliver products that align with consumers’ priorities across taste, nutrition, convenience and value.
Continuing the Journey
Our purpose at Nestlé is to unlock the power of food and beverages to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. I see that purpose come to life in practical ways—in the ingredients we use, the products we make, the information we share and the trust we work to earn every day.
We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, but this is not the end of the journey. We will always look for opportunities to innovate across our portfolio so we can better meet consumers’ evolving preferences. For me, that’s what leadership looks like in this space: listening closely, acting thoughtfully and continuing to make progress in ways that matter to consumers. That’s exactly what we intend to keep doing.
