The Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), a global independent non-profit organization on Wednesday launched its third edition of the India Index, in partnership with Consumer Voice and Confederation of Indian Industry.
The India Index 2023 edition assesses 20 of the largest food and beverage manufacturers in India. 14 of the companies are listed on Indian or international stock exchanges.
During the study, ATNI assessed companies which included: Adani Wilmar; Agro Tech Foods; Britannia Industries; Coca-Cola India; Dabur India; Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) AMUL; Haldiram’s Snacks Private Limited; Hatsun Agro Products; Heritage Foods; Hindustan Unilever; ITC; KMF Nandini (Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers Federation); Lactalis India; Marico; Mondelez India Foods; Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetables; Nestlé India; Parle Products; Patanjali Foods; PepsiCo India.
The experts highlighted that the business in India is booming, particularly in the food sector.
- The Government of India aims to double the contribution of the food processing sector to GDP by 2030.
Indian household consumption is set to quadruple by 2030.
The sales of packaged F&B in India surged by 15 percent annually since 2011, outshining total food sales. - Alongside India’s rapid economic growth, the country is also witnessing a transition in dietary patterns and an increased consumption of processed foods. India’s food processing industry is now the sixth largest in the world, expected to reach INR 40.1 trillion (USD 480 billion) by 2026.
- Health Landscape: Micronutrient deficiencies are highly prevalent, with over 23 percent of adults overweight and 35.5 percent of children under five facing stunted growth, while 3.4% of children under 5 years of age grapple with early onset of overweight issues. The numbers are too high when compared to developed nations.
According to the experts, the macroeconomic cost to India of malnutrition is immense.
- The indirect cost to businesses in India due to obesity-related reduced workforce productivity is projected to be USD 75.65 billion by 2030 (World Obesity Federation).
- Reduced workforce productivity due to anemia – just one type of malnutrition – is costing Indian businesses $20.5 billion each year (Chatham House).
- Global cost of malnutrition: while the cost of global food consumption is c$9 trillion, the estimated cost to human life of poor diets is $11 trillion.
Key Findings:
- The F&B industry plays an increasingly pivotal role in determining what consumers in India eat, the quality of their diets, and resulting health impacts.
Companies and products are evolving: Seven out of 20 indexed companies are on a journey of transformation, setting (re)formulation targets in line with dietary guidelines for sodium, saturated fat, and sugar. Half of them wield nutrition strategies, marking a commitment to a healthier tomorrow. - The researchers analysed 1,901 products from the top 20 companies and it revealed that only 24 percent of sales are derived from “healthier” products.
Key takeaways:
- There is no agreed definition of what constitutes healthy food so companies resort to using their own definitions that are not necessarily aligned with each other or with (inter)nationally-recognized standards.
- Seven out of 20 indexed companies report having at least one (re)formulation target in place to reduce nutrients of concern (e.g., sodium, saturated fat, sugar) in their portfolio and half of the companies have a nutrition strategy in place.
- Seven companies have a publicly available policy on responsible marketing to children.
- Five companies show evidence of having clearly defined workforce nutrition programs in place, of which two companies clearly include measurable targets.
- Seven out of 20 companies were found to have a responsible advocacy policy in place.
- The findings of the 2023 India Index show that the F&B industry has significant opportunity to improve its product offerings making them healthier and more affordable for all consumers in India.
- Five institutional investors and shareholders of food companies in India have now signed up to nutrition frameworks such as the Investor Expectations on Nutrition, Diets and Health as part of their responsible investment strategies.
Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at addressing undernutrition and hunger, the India Index serves as a crucial instrument for enhancing product portfolios, striving for at least half of these portfolios to meet healthy standards by 2030, it added.
“ATNI works on three levels to transform markets and achieve improved access to healthier products and diets: tools including benchmarks and indexes that assess the private sector on their nutrition commitments and products; policy support and alliances including via ATNI’s Investors in Nutrition and Health; and action research which underpin market change for nutrition,” Greg S Garrett, Executive Director, ATNI, said during the press conference on Wednesday.
This India index will serve as a powerful catalyst for driving positive change within the food and beverage industry in India, he added.
“By focusing on private sector contributions to diet, nutrition, and health, the Index sheds light on what is working and what is not among the food industry. It’s exciting to see efforts aimed at driving real impact and fostering a more conscious and health-centric approach within the industry,” he said.
