Unilever sets bold new ‘Future Foods’ ambition

Unilever announced a new annual global sales target of EUR 1 billion (approximately Rs 8800 crore) from plant-based meat and dairy alternatives within the next five to seven years. The growth will be driven by the roll-out of The Vegetarian Butcher and increasing vegan alternatives from brands including Hellmann’s, Magnum, and Walls.

Different flavors for Vegetarian Burger

The target is part of Unilever’s ‘Future Foods’ ambition, launched globally with two key objectives: to help people transition towards healthier diets and help reduce the global food chain’s environmental impact. Unilever, which also makes Lipton, Ben & Jerry’s, and Knorr, has also committed to:

• Halve food waste in its direct global operations from factory to shelf by 2025 – five years earlier than previously committed, as part of the Champions 12.3 coalition target.
• Double the number of products delivering positive nutrition globally by 2025 – defined as products containing impactful amounts of vegetables, fruits, proteins, or micronutrients like vitamins, zinc, iron, and iodine.
• Continue lowering calorie, salt, and sugar levels across products – 85% of Unilever’s global Foods portfolio will help consumers reduce their salt intake to no more than 5g per day by 2021. 95% of Unilever’s packaged ice cream will not contain more than 22g of total sugar, and 250 Kcal per serving, by 2025. This is in addition to the company’s children’s ice creams, which have been capped at 110 kcal since 2014.

Transforming the global food system

Hanneke Faber, president of Unilever’s Foods and Refreshment Division, says, “As one of the world’s largest food companies, we have a critical role to play in helping to transform the global food system. It’s not up to us to decide what they want to eat, but it is up to us to make healthier and plant-based options accessible to all. These are bold, stretching targets that demonstrate our commitment to being a force for good.

“It is widely recognized that the current global food system is inequitable and inefficient. One billion people around the world are hungry while two billion are obese or overweight. One third of all food produced is thrown away. And animal agriculture is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions after fossil fuels and a leading cause of deforestation, water and air pollution and biodiversity loss.”

The 2019 EAT-Lancet report showed that a diet rich in plant-based foods and less animal-sourced foods offers health and environmental benefits.

Jessica Fanzo, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Global Food and Agricultural Policy and Ethics, Johns Hopkins University and a co-author of the EAT-Lancet report said, “The average person’s daily diet will need to change drastically during the next three decades to make sure everyone is fed without depleting the planet. By improving food production and food environments, transforming eating habits, and reducing food waste, we can begin to solve these problems. Unilever’s commitments are integral to helping people make changes to their diet, with healthier and more sustainable food products that are accessible and affordable for their consumers.”

Liz Goodwin, senior fellow and director, Food Loss and Waste at World Resources Institute, said, “Food loss and waste have massive impacts in terms of cost to the global economy, the environment and society. We know that food loss and waste contribute about 8% of global greenhouse emissions7 as well as wasting the land and water used in production of food.”

“We need as many companies as possible to step up and priorities the issue of food loss and waste and take action to reduce it. It is great to see Unilever showing this sort of leadership. Given the size and reach of Unilever, their commitment to halve food loss and waste across their global operations will undoubtedly lead others to take action as well.”

Innovating new plant-based products

Unilever has been expanding its plant-based meat and dairy alternatives business for several years. After acquiring The Vegetarian Butcher in 2018, Unilever has expanded the plant-based meat brand into more than 30 countries and was last year chosen as the supplier of Burger King’s Plant-Based Whopper and Plant-Based Nuggets across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

In Ice Cream, its first vegan Magnum was awarded Best Vegan Ice Cream in the UK by PETA in 2019. Both Hellmann’s Vegan Mayo and Ben & Jerry’s Coconutterly Caramel’d Dairy-free were named Nielsen’s top 25 Breakthrough Innovations in Europe for 2020.