Two thirds (66 per cent) of UK pension savers, equivalent to 21 million individuals, are in favour of Nestlé adopting internationally recognised standards for defining healthy food, research from PensionBee has revealed.

The survey follows on from a shareholder resolution co-filed by ShareAction, which urges Nestlé to establish a target aimed at enhancing the proportion of healthy food products in its portfolio.

Scheduled for voting at Nestlé's Annual General Meeting on 18 April 2024, the resolution aims to put pressure on Nestlé to align itself with credible standards on food health.

PensionBee highlighted the findings as demonstration that pension savers are advocating for Nestlé to adopt shareholder resolution by increasing its range of genuinely healthy food products.

Commenting on the findings, PensionBee chief engagement officer, Clare Reilly, said: “With nearly seven in ten pension savers in our survey urging Nestlé to adopt internationally recognised healthy food standards, the call for meaningful action resonates strongly. “

“Mis-categorisation of food as ‘healthy’ presents a number of long-term risks to investors and society. Poor health outcomes impact all of us.

"Nestlé, along with the major food producers, have a responsibility to society to produce food that is genuinely nutritious and supports us all to lead healthier lives.”

Nestlé previously said that it disagreed with ShareAction's point of view on its portfolio, and with the view that coffee and specialized nutrition should not be included in the more nutritious segment of its portfolio.

The company also disagreed with ShareAction's call to set targets to increase the proportion of its sales from the more nutritious segment, stating that this would require the group to weaken other parts of our portfolio, creating opportunities for competitors without yielding public health benefits.

"For Nestlé, we now put our focus on working to achieve our target, not changing it. A debate about whether the target has been set correctly is not useful at this time," the group stated.

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