Nestle Urged to Rebalance Sales Toward Healthier Products Ahead of Annual Meeting

By Giulia Petroni

A group of investors has called on Nestle SA to increase the proportion of its sales from healthy products ahead of its annual general meeting on Thursday.

Earlier this year, the Swiss giant said it was committed to set a target for healthier sales after reporting that less than half of its mainstream food-and-drink portfolio is considered healthy, according to the results of an international nutrient profiling system that the company published for the first time in March.

"While we welcome Nestle's progress, the current proposed target, however, is based on actual sales of healthier products, rather than a proportion of these sales relative to less healthy product sales," the coalition of 26 investors said in a public statement.

The investors said they are willing to escalate their engagement if the company fails to provide assurance that it wants to reduce its reliance on the sale of less healthy products.

"Nestle set a new standard in corporate transparency last March: We are the first company to report on the nutritional value of our entire global portfolio against a single externally recognized, nutrient profiling scheme," a company spokesperson said in a statement. "We will set a global target for the more nutritious part of our portfolio later this year."

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 20, 2023 05:48 ET (09:48 GMT)

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