CAIRO: Nestle Egypt recently launched a campaign that might motivate Egyptians to take a closer look at food labels and make healthy selections of food products. Under the slogan "Be at Your Best, Nestle says that balancing the needs of the body with those of the mind helps people to be at their best throughout the day. "Our initiative is a theme for wellness. We want to empower consumers and inform them of good and nutritious choices, explained Andre Porchet, chairman of Nestle Egypt, Libya and Horn of Africa. "It is important for us as a food company to address the needs of the time; and nowadays, needs are moving towards consuming healthy food. At the core of the initiative lies the aim of being transparent with consumers. As Porchet puts it, Nestle attempts to conduct a dialogue with consumers by including the ingredients and nutritious facts of their food products on the labels so consumers are aware of what they are eating. "Nestle Egypt is now shifting from being a manufacturer of processed food towards manufacturer of value-added products.towards helping people 'be at their best,' he added. In order to achieve that goal, Nestle Egypt introduced low-fat products (including milk, yogurt, and ice cream) and decreased sugar and salt levels in some products. The company also changed several other products to make them healthier. For example, it improved the Maggi recipe by decreasing trans-fatty acids. In addition, Nestle Egypt increased the amounts of protein, calcium and minerals in products such as Nido, Nesquik, and Nestle Yogurt. "We want the brand name Nestle to be a seal of guarantee for wellness and good health, said Porchet. Addressing the issue of affordability, Nestle Egypt's vision is to develop various nutritious products that appeal to a wider consumer base. For example, the company offers different kinds of milk that provide nutritional value but are sold at different prices. Nestle Egypt says that consuming nutritious products has become more of a necessity than a luxury. "The culture of consumers has completely changed in the past five years. After the spread of various health problems, consumers started to look for nutritious products and became more aware of the need to consume healthy food, said Adel Farghaly, public relations manager at Nestle Egypt. Calling on consumers to consider their options more carefully when shopping for food, Nestle Egypt embarked on heavy media awareness campaigns - mainly on radio - to help them be at their best. "Our campaign aims to emphasize wellness-related products such as yogurt, which already carries that image with it. The same fact should be true for Nescafe , for example, which carries antioxidants higher than that of green tea, pointed out Amany Iskander, Nestle Egypt's wellness unit manager. Next month, the company will organize seminars and discussions with various consumers at different clubs, starting with the Shooting Club, Heliopolis and Shams clubs. "Consumers are already aware of the importance of eating healthy food, but they need someone to educate them on how to do that, she added. Nestle Egypt has a history of conducting face-to-face discussions with consumers across several governorates nationwide. "This is an ongoing [approach] that we will progressively develop over the years, Porchet said. "We plan to make 'Be at Your Best' a national cause for Egypt.
