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Nutrition

Average read time: 6 minutes

Everyone deserves access to a nutritious diet. We help make balanced health-supporting diets more accessible and appealing for everyone, every day.

From our global Power Brands, like Knorr and Hellmann’s, to local favourites like Horlicks and Maizena, we offer a wide range of tasty, affordable and accessible foods and beverages.

Backed by a powerhouse of chefs, nutrition and food innovation experts – and through collaboration with others – we take a multi-stakeholder approach to driving positive change for better diets, without compromising on taste or enjoyment.

Our long-standing commitment to improving nutrition is led by science and informed by our experience and expertise. We believe nutritional quality, portion size and frequency of consumption determine the healthiness of a diet. This principle shapes our holistic approach – driving the development of nutritionally better products, empowering healthier diets, ensuring transparency through clear communication and disclosure, and fostering collaboration to amplify impact.

Creating better products for better nutrition

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For over two decades, we’ve continuously improved the nutritional quality of our products through innovation and reformulation, actively championing a shift towards healthier diets. Our progress is guided by science-based standards and time-bound goals.

Our nutritional framework is built on two complementary standards: Unilever’s Science-based Nutrition Criteria (USNC) and Positive Nutrition Standards (PNS). Both are grounded in the latest scientific consensus and global dietary guidance, and validated for real-world impact.

PNS also inform our approach to helping address micronutrient deficiencies through targeted fortification. In 2024, our Foods business delivered 164 billion servings containing at least one of five key micronutrients – vitamin A, vitamin D, iodine, iron and zinc.

Critically, these standards operate independently, meaning that compliance with positive ingredients and nutrients cannot offset non-compliance with nutrients to limit.

We use these standards to benchmark our entire portfolio, establish clear, time-bound global goals, and report annual progress across our full portfolio and 16 key markets (XLSX 549.34 KB). We also disclose performance against six externally recognised Nutrient Profiling Models (PDF 1.12 MB), both globally and at market level.

Our goals

  • 85% of our portfolio to meet Unilever’s Science-based Nutrition Criteria by 2028[a]

    84%Our progress in 2024

  • Double the number of products sold that deliver positive nutrition by 2025[a]

    52%Our progress in 2024

  • 80% of our global beverage[b] portfolio to contain a maximum of 5 grams of total sugar per 100ml by 2025

    76%Our progress in 2024

Empowering healthier diets for everyone

girl, woman and a boy with a scallion above their lips in the kitchen

As many of our products are used in meal preparation, we aim to inspire people with ideas that fit diverse lifestyles, tastes and budgets – all guided by our Healthy Recipe Framework (PDF 322.03 KB) and shared across our ever-expanding range of on-pack and online content.

We also empower people through practical nutrition education. In partnership with governments and organisations, we deliver impactful healthy eating programmes that address local needs, promote behaviour change and encourage long-term dietary improvements.

Beyond home cooks, we support professional chefs through Unilever Food Solutions with training, recipes and tools for healthier food preparation. We also promote better food choices in workplace settings – for example, through the Healthier Canteen Initiative in Shanghai (PDF 188.54 KB).

To increase access, we offer products at a range of price points and pack sizes, innovating to provide affordable options. We are also expanding our reach in remote areas through innovative distribution channels. In India, our Shakti programme has trained over 200,000 women living in rural areas to become active sales agents – equipping them with business skills and knowledge in nutrition and hygiene. The success of this model has led to its expansion and localisation in Nigeria and Ethiopia, empowering even more women and strengthening community access to nutrition.

Supporting informed choices through transparency

A woman looking at a label on a jar of mayonnaise, standing next to a grocery aisle filled with various products on the shelves.

We know consumers need clear and easy-to-understand nutrition information to make informed choices. That’s why we provide transparent, fact-based labelling on our packaging worldwide. We voluntarily apply government-endorsed front-of-pack labels, such as the UK traffic light system, Nutri-Score, Health Star Rating and various Healthy Choice logos, and we strictly adhere to responsible advertising and marketing principles (PDF 305.29 KB). We back every nutrition and health claim we make with scientific evidence and ensure it meets established criteria.

Our commitment to transparency also extends to publicly disclosing our governance (PDF 164.8 KB), positions on key nutrition topics and related advocacy efforts (PDF 585.83 KB).

Driving collective action

Hands of cropped unrecognisable woman and man passing salad bowl on the dining table

Transforming diets at scale demands collective action.

We work with governments, experts, academic consortia and organisations to address nutrition challenges and co-develop science-backed solutions.

These alliances also fuel our research in key areas such as gut health, behaviour change and personalised nutrition, helping to strengthen the evidence behind healthier eating and driving systemic change in nutrition.

We share our findings (PDF 351.81 KB) through peer-reviewed publications and scientific conferences, advancing collective understanding and informing public health advocacy.

Minimalist illustration of a bowl filled with vegetables, including a carrot, broccoli, and leafy greens, next to the word 'FIBERME' in bold, outlined capital letters. The background is a solid light teal colour.

FIBERME project

Through the FIBERME initiative, we are exploring how dietary fibres influence gut health. By pairing cutting-edge AI with microbiome science, this research aims to predict how different fibres impact digestion, immunity and overall wellbeing – opening new possibilities for personalised nutrition.

Read more about the FIBERME consortium

An assortment of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, seeds, and spices arranged on a grey surface. Visible foods include green beans, parsley, blueberries, pomegranate, broccoli, avocado, courgette, apple, ginger, turmeric, mushrooms, tomatoes, lentils, kidney beans, almonds, chia seeds, and more, displayed in bowls and loose on the table.

BioMicro project

We are advancing research into how the body absorbs micronutrients through a new in vitro model. This approach will help identify how different ingredients and processing methods affect the absorption of vitamins and minerals – guiding the development of foods that more effectively support health and help address nutrient deficiencies.

Read more about the BioMicro project

Restructure logo.

RESTRUCTURE project

We want to understand how certain characteristics of ultra-processed foods may influence overall body weight and metabolic health. Through the RESTRUCTURE initiative, we’re supporting research into the link between food texture, the speed of eating and energy intake.

Read more about the RESTRUCTURE project

showing overview of portfolio brands and some product examples and/or people using these to create a meal

WBCSD Food Fortification Playbook

We contributed to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Eat Well Global’s Accelerating Food and Nutrition Security through Food Fortification: A private sector playbook that identifies fortification challenges and opportunities to inspire global collaboration among different stakeholders.

We presented outcomes from our Royco Nutrimenu programme, which reached nearly 18 million mothers in Indonesia, and we highlighted our partnership with the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, training 274 nurses on micronutrient deficiencies and fortification.

Read more about the playbook

[a]

(1, 2) Includes Foods and Ice Cream portfolios.

[b]

Includes all sweetened tea and herbal-based beverages.

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