Page 15 - BUSINESS COMMUNIQUE ver. 2

What's Really Inside? The Sneaky Truth

Behind Food Labels

By Riti Mankad
Market Strategies Leveraging as traffic light systems warning By Riti Mankad
Nutrition Labels labels, to provide consumers with
Manufacturers have become a quick and easy way to assess
increasingly adept at leveraging the nutritional quality of
nutrition labels to their products. Manufacturers can
advantage. One common leverage these systems to
strategy is reformulation, where differentiate their products as
products are modified to healthier options.
improve their nutritional profiles
and appeal to health-conscious The Dark Side of Nutrition Labels
consumers. This can involve While nutrition labels are
reducing sugar, fat, or sodium generally beneficial, they can
content, or adding nutrients like also be manipulated or
fiber or vitamins. misinterpreted. Manufacturers

may use misleading claims or
Label engineering is another obscure certain information to
tactic used by manufacturers. By create a false impression of a
strategically designing labels to product's nutritional value.
highlight desirable nutritional
attributes while downplaying less Additionally, consumers may not
favorable ones, manufacturers always understand the
can create a positive perception implications of certain nutritional
of their products. values or may be influenced by
This might involve using smaller biases or preconceived notions.
font sizes for less desirable
information or placing it in less
prominent locations.

In recent years, many countries
have implemented front-of
package labelling systems such

PAGE 14

BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUB, ISWK