Why food marketers need to produce and promote better food

Life journeys tend to shape a person’s relationship with food. We grew up in Ghana, Egypt, Zaire, England and France. In Africa, markets sold fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, chickens, goats and pigs—food that came directly from local farms or was alive hours before it was prepared. A French upbringing offered not only a delicious and balanced diet but a cultural belief that food is a form of care and love in the family. Food was about more than eating, but also about spending a moment together and feeling emotionally sustained. Moving to the U.S. also meant adapting to a new relationship with food, which meant sweets, snacks and processed goods. While we embrace healthier food habits to care for our respective families, it isn’t easy. Fresh, organic food is expensive and every trip to Whole Foods or the farmers market is an investment. Money isn’t the only barrier. Unhealthy, addictive foods are aggressively (and sometimes deceptively) promoted, with consumers left to untangle the ads, articles, reports and studies to make healthy choices. And the failure to do so creates culturally ingrained feelings of guilt and shame that perpetuate the problem. See Ad Age’s 2024 Breakout Brand Leaders and Work here The system produces and sells so much unhealthy food that it’s causing a nutrition crisis: Poor health caused by poor nutrition costs the U.S. economy $1.1 trillion every year, making unhealthy eating the leading cause of death in the U.S. Fixing the issue will take a host of solutions, including help from highly influential food brands. These marketers should not only use their platforms to encourage healthy eating habits—but also create a system in which they are caring for people and communities. A systemic challenge Unhealthy food is convenient and widely distributed with highly visible marketing—in other words, impossible to avoid. It’s also affordable and typically lasts longer on the shelf. Companies producing such products can use their size as leverage—negotiating even greater control of pricing and distribution. While some brands offer healthier options, they are comparatively expensive with costs continuing to rise. Unhealthy food is also addictive. Today, 73% of the U.S. food supply is ultra-processed, which studies suggest is as addictive as alcohol and only mildly less so than tobacco—due in part to releasing elevated levels of dopamine to the brain. Addictive foods make people sick and keep them dependent—a cycle especially concerning in a country where health care is expensive and, for many, out of reach. This especially hurts low-income communities and people living in food deserts—including single parents, underrepresented communities and the reportedly 43 million Americans in the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Those with busy lifestyles are also affected, especially urban residents who may opt for the convenience of processed and fast foods, which are aggressively marketed as quick and easy meal solutions. Children, teens and young adults are also heavily targeted by campaigns using bright colors, characters and engaging formats—creating early brand loyalty and normalizing the consumption of unhealthy foods. Too often, brands disguise unhealthy choices with messaging about great taste, fun and convenience while also misrepresenting product health benefits. Terms such as natural, organic, gluten-free and low-fat are often used to imply that a product is healthy, even when it is high in sugar, sodium or unhealthy fats. Determining what is actually healthy takes a lot of research to decipher ads and labels. Worse, culture tends to put the responsibility of eating well on individuals while also casting that responsibility in moral terms. If you can’t control your cravings, you’re bad, lazy or undisciplined. Experts agree that the moral code we’ve built around eating hurts our relationship with food and misses the real problem: The food itself causes people to lose control, not the other way around. Changing the narrative We need brands to take action by developing and promoting healthier products and making them affordable and convenient. It's less about encouraging consumers to eat healthier, and more about offering better products and helping them to eat healthier. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs This means big brands need a new recipe for success, not incremental steps such as acquiring small organic brands or launching products with reduced fat, salt or sugar. New policies are needed too, including subsidies for healthy foods, stricter regulations and local programs that provide education on nutrition and cooking. But brands can also use their power more responsibly, adopting a comprehensive strategy that includes product reformulation, transparent marketing, consumer education and a focus on sustainability. Whole Foods, for example, puts effort into healthy food initiatives such as the “No List”—the hundreds of ingredients and supplements it bans in order to offer natural and organic foods and products. As the nation’s only certified organic national grocery store, it also excludes artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, preservatives and hydrogenated fats from food it sells. Michelob Ultra’s “Contract for Change” has invested heavily to help farmers transition 104,000 acres to organic, creating a higher-quality and more sustainable for producing beer. The brand supports farmers so they have the confidence and investment to transition their farms. Change like this will take real investment from brands. But they’ll be rewarded, not only by playing a part in increasing the consumers’ quality of life but by the loyalty they’ll earn. Studies overwhelmingly reveal consumers’ desire for a healthier diet with half across all age groups saying healthy eating is a top priority. Brands just need to play their part. Food is health. Food is medicine. Food is care. Food is love. Food goes beyond mere sustenance—it is a powerful means of expressing care, cultural connection and affection. If food companies can embrace this reality in their words and actions, we can break not only our bad food addiction but the shame it creates. A-List & Creativity Awards Enter for a chance to be recognized as the best in advertising Submit your entry here

Why food marketers need to produce and promote better food

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