“We have to have tough conversations about building healthy food systems in our city...I feel so strongly that we need a systematic, food-systems approach,” said Nancy Roman, Partnerships for a Healthier America (PHA) CEO and moderator for our Healthier Revolution discussion. On Wednesday March 6th, we teamed up with our partners at PHA to talk about what it means to truly be health conscious in the food & beverage industry. We kicked things off by looking at what organizations like Mars Global is doing to spark that change. The entire room was engaged as we listened to panelist Tracey Massey reflect on the efforts of renowned confectionary company Mars Global. She explained that one of the most important factors of Mars Global is to help the consumer be more aware of what’s in their snacks. They’ve worked to ensure that their consumers are aware of what they’re eating by practicing “transparent labeling,” and offering snack size portions of their products.  

Author and former food industry executive, Hank Cardello also weighed in on the panel, offering insight on the progress that’s been made to create a healthier industry, while noting that there’s still much work to be done. “I’ve seen progress within the confection industry, as a whole and certainly in the soda industry,” Cardello noted, “but there’s an obesity crisis in the U.S.,” and something must be done to remedy this situation. Cardello made an interesting observation that consumers are influenced by more than what food companies are advertising, they follow influencers, bloggers and trends. With that in mind, it’s important for food companies to take consumer marketing into account in order to successfully get their messaging across.  

The Healthier Revolution was a fantastic learning experience with knowledgeable panelists, as well as our PHA partners. We look forward to partnering with PHA for more events. Speaking of amazing events, PHA will be hosting a summit April 1-2 to bring forward lessons learned from the world’s most iconic brands, industry leaders, thinkers and doers with workshops and sessions that will spark ideas, ignite conversations and accelerate change. Registration for this event is available now.