Foreseeing a strong health-conscious trend globally, fast-moving manufacturing giant Unilever is reformulating all its food and drink products to minimise unhealthy ingredients.

The multinational expects its nutrition enhancement programme to benefit its marketing plans significantly in the long term.

The Anglo-Dutch group began the programme in November 2003 and expects to complete it next year.

Its global budget for the programme is difficult to calculate because the project is ongoing. However, spending in Thailand last year alone was as much as Bt1 billion. It will spend another Bt200 million this year, Jerome Charachon, Unilever Thai Group of Companies' marketing director for food and ice-cream, said.

Its Food and Health Research Institute has reformulated 16,000 products worldwide, resulting in the elimination of 15 million kilograms of trans fats, 10 million kilograms of saturated fats, 2 million kilograms of sodium and 10 million kilograms of sugar, Unilever Thai Group of Companies chairman Loic Tardy said.

In Thailand, Unilever has already reviewed 80 per cent of 200 products sold here. Products under the Knorr and Best Foods brands have already been reformulated. In the third quarter last year, it introduced Best Foods jam with additional fruit ingredients. In the second quarter this year, it reviewed the jam's ingredients by including less sugar and also introduced Energy Knorr Cup Jok.

The next phase of the project is to reformulate its food products for children and ice-cream products.

The new formula for ice-cream products is expected to be completed in the next two months, while the company expects the entire reformulation process to be finished within 2008, said Charachon.

He said Unilever had anticipated the health-conscious trend among global consumers and had adjusted its products to serve demand at the right time. The project had not affected sales at all.

In Thailand, sales of food and drink products experienced two-digit growth over the past five months while the whole market grew 7 per cent.

Unilever's overall sales of food and drink in Thailand last year reached ¤19 million (Bt843 million).

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation