Pepsi Foods' move to a healthier product portfolio

The foods division of PepsiCo India is actively working at having a portfolio in line with global chairman Indra Nooyi's vision of having nutritive products.

The ball, explains the division's new head of marketing, Vidur Vyas, was set rolling a few years earlier, when Pepsi Foods cut saturated fats in key snack brands such as Lays and Kurkure by close to 40 per cent.

A 100g serving of Lays, for instance, has 9.4g of saturated fats, while Kurkure has 9.5g of these.

A recently launched snack brand from Mumbai-based Parle Biscuits, on the other hand, has 14.8g of saturated fats per 100g serving, he said. Allied industry players are also more or less in the same league as Parle's when it comes to saturated fats in their products.

These fats, according to food science experts, raise overall cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart disease.

Manufacturers of processed foods use saturated fats commonly in their products because of its ability to stay solid at room temperature.

But with consumers across the world shifting to health and wellness products, the pressure on food and beverage players to make the transition to healthier products is also growing.

In March, Nooyi had said the company planned to reduce the average sodium per serving in major global food brands in key markets by 25 per cent.

This would be done by 2015, she had said. By 2020, the company would reduce the average saturated fat per serving by 15 per cent, while the added sugar per serving in key global beverage brands would be reduced by 25 per cent, she had said.

This announcement had come soon after the company had said it would stop sales of full-sugar soft drinks to primary and secondary schools worldwide by 2012.

The company now has a policy to address the issue of responsible marketing to kids internationally. In India, along with a few other fast moving consumer goods companies, it pledged to market its products responsibly to children below 12 years.

"We do not advertise our products on kids' channels," says Vyas. "So, it helps the cause of responsible marketing to children."

The reduction in saturated fats undertaken by the company in India is more than the target set internationally by Nooyi.

Vyas says, "We pro-actively took up these measures a few years ago. We are also focusing our attention on healthier food products. Quaker Oats and Alviva are two such products in our portfolio. There will be more," he adds.