Better for you

Added sugars are common components of modern-day diets, found in a wide range of foods and drinks, including confectionery. In addition to providing sweetness and an attractive taste, sugars are a source of energy. Confectionery products contain added sugars, and therefore are best enjoyed in moderation.

We believe that the reduction of sugar intake can be achieved as a result of numerous actions taken by consumers. We are also aware of the key role that the confectionery industry can play and for this reason have adopted a multi-faceted strategy based on three main goals:

1. Calorie content information on our products

   We seek to provide our consumers with clear calorie per piece labelling in space on packaging. Our product websites likewise provide information on ingredients and calorie count. With calorie per piece labelling as a reference, we seek to provide clear information for our consumers to help them calculate and decide how many pieces they can consume based on their daily dietary intake.

2. Wide range of sugar-based, sugar-free and sugar-reduced products

   We offer our consumers a wide product range from sugar-based products to sugar- free and sugar-reduced options. In particular, for all our global brands (Mentos, Chupa Chups, Alpenliebe and Fruit-tella), we commit to offering a sugar-free or sugar-reduced variant next to sugar-based products in the coming five years.

   Most of our chewing gum portfolio is sugar-free. Chewing sugar free gum is beneficial for oral hygiene, as recognized by the FDI, World Dental Federation and numerous national dental associations around the world. Chewing sugar-free gum contributes to the maintenance of tooth mineralization, the neutralization of plaque acids and the reduction of oral dryness.

   We have launched our reduced-sugar Fruit-tella candy in the United Kingdom: this delicious fruit candy has 30% less sugar, delivering 350 (kcal) calories per 100g vs a standard Fruit-tella candy that delivers 400 (kcal) calories.

3. Products in smaller and resealable packs and single portions

   We offer more options, including smaller packs, to help consumers enjoy our treats in moderation and we do not provide stimulus for over-consumption. Our smaller packs, single portion and re-sealable packs - such as Mentos Mini, Fruit-tella Dummy and Alpenliebe pillow-packs - have been part of our product portfolio for a long time. And we are seeing an increase in revenue from products sold in pack sizes less than 30g.

Consumers are increasingly becoming more health-conscious and food-savvy. They place priority on natural ingredients in their food choices. Artificial colors approved as food additives by the national and international food safety institutions do not pose risks to consumers’ health, but have often been a cause for concern, especially in terms of exposure to children. Although confectionery is considered an occasional treat, we strive to minimize and avoid the use of artificial colorings where possible.

We have committed to the following:

1. For new product developments of local and global brands, we will work with our suppliers to identify available natural alternatives and use non-artificial colorings where feasible.
2. Existing products will be gradually reformulated with the purpose of switching to non-artificial color alternatives. This process will take several years because of the complexity of the task to maintain the same product appeal, quality standards and food safety levels, as well as the large number of products involved in the reformulation process at global level.
3. We have also begun to completely remove titanium dioxide (an approved color additive used in a variety of applications, including food, to impart white color) from all product recipes worldwide and we will stop using titanium dioxide in production during 2018.

Genetically Modified (GM) foods are made from crops grown from seeds with genetically engineered DNA. Genetic engineering is a relatively new technique and research linked to the long-term health effects of GM foods is limited.

In 2016, we defined a Policy at Group level to ensure that all Perfetti Van Melle products (sold outside of the Americas) are free of GMOs. In the Americas, we strive to find GMO-free alternatives to replace raw materials not GMO-free.

Today, all our products sold in Europe are GMO-free. We also seek to ensure compliance with GMO requirements in other parts of the world.

We have palm oil in our products. Because we believe in responsible sourcing, however, we are in the process of replacing all non-responsibly sourced palm oil (RSPO) certified palm oil and derivatives in our products with RSPO-certified palm oil. The minimum required level of certification for palm oil in our products is Mass Balance certification (MB), which means that this, or any higher level of RSPO certification, is demanded for all our Raw Materials and Finished Products sourced from 3P manufacturers. Today, 75% of all raw materials, excluding flavors, are complying to our minimum requirements. In our flavors it is nearly 40%.