What Nutrition Labels Should Look Like

This piece by The Whole Truth Foods is edited for use on Padham Health News. You can read the original blog here. 

Time for a wake-up call. We need to understand the current Health Marketing practices- the fraudulent act of labelling unhealthy, sugary, preservative-laden junk as ‘FAT-FREE’, ‘100% Real’ and ‘No Nasties’.

But we’d like to tell you that all is not lost. That there are some good guys out there, showing us how Health-Marketing should be done. How good food, sold truthfully, can be a powerful marketing tool. How nutritional info can be more than just a black and white patch that you hide in some corner. How it can be a powerful claim that you should proudly display up front.

There are many truly ‘Healthy’ brands out there who’re fighting the good fight. And here are the top 5 ways in which they simplify nutritional info, showcase it, and use it as a great marketing weapon:

1. ‘Per Piece’ Nutrition

Because we eat biscuits by the piece. Not 100gm at a time.

How tough is this to do? We eat one cookie, one bread piece, one shortbread at a time. Why can’t brands just calculate nutrition ‘per piece’ and share it with us? Why make us walk around with a calculator in hand!

Check out the rye-bread brand above. Clean ingredients called out upfront. Per Slice nutritional info calculated at back. And almost NIL sugar.

Go on, use this as your tea time snack. Guilt-free.

2. Correct ‘Serving Size’

Loving all Jamie Oliver Products and how they display Nutrition.

What’s the point of telling us calories per 100ml’ on a 300ml can of Coke? When was the last time you drank a third of a can and kept the rest for later?

While researching for this post, we fell in love with Jamie Oliver’s food brand. Clear, accurate serving sizes are called out on every pack (We’d never realized that we use up 1/3rd of a Jar while making one batch of pasta!).

He uses good quality, fresh ingredients. He tells you how much to use right upfront.

3. Nutrition Table Up Front:

No need to turn it around. Nutrition table upfront! Isn’t this the simplest, boldest statement to make about the confidence you have in your product? Just put the entire table upfront. Like this brand above does. No Need to turn to the back of the pack and get frustrated trying to read the microscopic fine print. In fact, take it a step further. Colour code it, beautify it. Like Jamie Oliver does!

Disclaimers: 

• This is not an exhaustive list of products that we consider Healthy or otherwise. We’re just using these brands as examples. To equip you with the tools you need to examine other brands that claim they’re ‘healthy’.
• Most examples you’ll see here are brands not found widely in India. We’re sorry — but we couldn’t find any great examples in our country. Maybe they exist, maybe not yet, or maybe not many.
• But these are still relevant, because more than the brand-names, what matters is how these brands use nutritional info as a force for good. Just as you must know the tricksters’ technique, you must know the good samaritans method.