Lower-calorie food products drove 82% of the sales growth among the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) member CPG companies, increasing $1.25 billion, compared to less than $300 million for high-calorie products, reported the Hudson Institute.
Commissioned by the HWCF, the study, "Lower-Calorie Foods and Beverages Drive Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation Companies' Sales Growth," analyzed the 2006-20011 U.S. product and sales data of 16 member companies, including Coca-Cola Co., General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Nestlé USA and PepsiCo. Researchers examined Nielsen ScanTrack data, which captures sales data on point-of-sales purchases through barcodes, to analyze the dollar sales for the food and beverage products sold by HWCF member companies. Findings revealed that the $1.25 billion increase in lower-calorie products at these companies was more than four times the growth of high-calorie products. These companies had combined U.S. annual sales of $97 billion on grocery stores, drug stored and mass merchandisers. Data also showed that 10 of the 15 new products that attained annual sales of at least $50 million were lower-calories products.
These findings prove there is fundamental business reason to offer consumers lower-calorie products, said Hank Cardello, director of Hudson Institute's Obesity Solutions Initiative, who led the study. "A crucial way to accelerate a decline in the national obesity rate is to show food companies where the growth is," he added.
The release of these findings follows an announcement by the HWCF that its 16 U.S. food and beverage manufacturer members have met its group goal to cut 1.5 trillion calories from U.S. food and beverage products. The group's goal was fulfilled ahead of schedule as it initially pledged in 2010 to meet this commitment by 2015, as part of the First Lady's Partnership for a Healthier America.
