Spotlight on Health: CGF Members Lead the Way Towards a Healthier Future

The two day meeting, hosted in Accenture offices in central London, included a store visit to Tesco’s flagship store in Cheshunt and a dialogue with Group CEO, Tesco plc and CGF Co-Chair Ken Murphy, who underlined the opportunity and moral responsibility for collaborative industry leadership on health.

Discussions centred on advancing the Coalition’s three core workstreams, Life Course Wellness, Employee Health & Wellbeing, and Dietary Shifts. 

Setting the Scene on Health 

The steering committee meeting opened with a powerful keynote from Fiona Bennie Managing Director – Consumer Goods Sustainability + Future of Food, Accenture who set the scene with a powerful reminder of urgency – childhood obesity rates in the UK have risen by 50% in recent years. We also heard from Alessandra Zanetti, Strategy Managing Director in Accenture’s Business Strategy Practice on the role of AI in accelerating healthier choices.

Oonagh Turnbull, Head of Health and Sustainable Diet Campaigns, Strategy and Campaigns, Group Communications, Tesco and Coalition co-chair highlighted that “Health has never been more important and it continues to be a strategic priority at Tesco.”

Mike Barry, Co-founder of the Planeatry Alliance underlined the critical link between environmental sustainability and nutrition, noting that nearly 600 million people work in food supply chains, often under disproportionate risk. Citing the newly released EAT Lancet Commission report, he urged the members to move from incremental initiatives to transformative programmes that put people and the planet at the centre of food systems change.

Ayla Ziz, Global Chief Customer Officer & SVP Commercial Europe, Danone and Coalition co-chair emphasised, “To shift diets at scale, we need to meet consumers where they are and combine taste and healthiness in our product choices.”

Innovative Initiatives from Local Markets 

The Coalition’s member companies shared insights, trends and successful pilot programmes impacting the consumer goods sector; such as Migros Ticaret’s initiatives for promoting health and wellbeing to Carrefour’s engagement with consumers to develop seasonal recipes. 

• Jonathan Reddin, Commercial Innovation Manager from MAF, UAE challenged members to rethink how supermarkets are built – shifting from convenience-driven models toward those that actively promote care and wellbeing. 
• Ahmed Ashour, Principle Product Manager and Kara Gainer, Director of Global Public Policy at Walmart shared how the company is embedding wellbeing into retail operations, from product reformulation to customer engagement through their digital hub. 
• Imke van Gasselt, VP Health and Sustainable Diets, Ahold Delhaize shared candid realities about changing dietary habits in the retail space. She also shared the company’s integrated strategy connecting human and planetary health, including a Group KPI on total store healthy sales and a protein split target of 50% plant-based by 2030 across its European brands. 

Contributions from LoSalt, Philips, and others further reinforced how members are translating health ambition into practical action across markets.

To ensure health is supported at every stage of life, the Coalition also announced plans to strengthen its Life Course Wellness workstream through a new taskforce – focusing on how members can develop targeted programmes and innovations that support wellbeing from early life to healthy ageing.

CGF’s Health and Sustainability Director Sharon Bligh said, “The energy and ideas shared today show how collaboration across the consumer goods sector can turn complex challenges into tangible progress.”

Retail Best Practice In Action: Members Visit Tesco Flagship Store 

The Coalition visited Tesco’s newly developed concept store in Cheshunt.

The visit offered members a first-hand look at how retail is evolving to make healthier choices easier and more engaging for consumers. The store showcases best practice in translating health strategy into action – with spacious aisles (enhancing shopper experience), prominent displays promoting fresh fruit and vegetables in line with the UK Government’s High Fat, Salt and Sugar (HFSS) guidelines, free health consultations, an in-store pharmacy, and a community centre open to the public.

Group CEO, Tesco plc, Ken Murphy Calls on the Industry to Make Health a Priority  

As CGF Co-Chair, he highlighted the critical role of collaboration between retailers and manufacturers in product reformulation and responsible innovation, noting that lasting progress will require both industry action and supportive legislation. He underlined the food industry’s moral responsibility to address the global rise in obesity and promote healthier choices for consumers. 

During a dialogue, hosted by CGF Health and Sustainability Director, Sharon Bligh, he reflected on the industry’s role in improving consumer health: 

“As retailers and manufacturers, we have a unique opportunity to make the healthier choice the easy choice – for every shopper, every day. It’s through partnerships like the Healthier Lives Coalition that we can walk-the-talk and turn this ambition into lasting impact.”

He reinforced the Coalition’s mission to empower people to live healthier lives globally by helping members translate global goals into practical actions that improve health and wellbeing in their markets. For members, the meeting was a chance to turn priorities into next steps, ensuring that healthier choices become easier and more accessible for people everywhere.

For more on CGF’s work in health and sustainability, visit tcgfhealthierlives.com.