Vidarium

Vidarium, Grupo Nutresa's research center, generates and transfers scientific knowledge on food, health and nutrition. With its support, the Organization manages to offer products and menus that meet the nutrition and well-being expectations of its consumers, while also actively promoting healthy habits and lifestyles.

Nutrition and Healthy lifestyles

Grupo Nutresa knows that being part of the food sector means to operate within a dynamic regulatory framework and in a horizon of increasingly shorter product and technology life cycles.

 

The Organization revolves around consumers and their quality of life, which are the core of its strategy. That is why the Company works on reformulating its portfolio and developing new products that fulfill their aspirations in terms of nutrition, health and wellness.

 

This strategic priority encompasses, among other issues, the global challenges of obesity and malnutrition as outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Moreover, Grupo Nutresa recognizes that consumers are increasingly aware of their eating habits, which has increased the demand for food products with greater nutritional density, but with a lower caloric content.

 

This has driven Grupo Nutresa to incorporate into its Strategy for 2030 the commitment to achieve that 50% of its product innovations meet the nutrition and health criteria, to become a more active corporate citizen in the engagement with consumers, and to transform human and social capital in order to foster healthy habits and healthier lifestyles.

Grupo Nutresa’s nutrition policy

Grupo Nutresa enhances the consumers’ quality of life through product and menu alternatives that fulfill their aspirations in terms of nutrition, health and wellness. The Organization also, encourages strategies to promote healthy lifestyles and informed decision-makingprocesses.

Through our vision, we state ourinterest in enhancing the consumers’providingquality of life to consumers through by means ofproducts that fulfilltheir needs in terms of wellness, health and enjoyment. Convinced of the fundamental role of food companies in the health and wellness of society, Groupo Nutresa strives to be aware understanding the consumers’ nutritional needs.

A strategy has been formulated based on the health and nutrition conditions of the countries where the Organizationweoperates, and it includesthe following objectives:

  • Innovating in terms of health and nutrition.
  • Implementing the front panel nutritional label in all product items.
  • Reducing nutrients of concern for public health.
  • Responsibly managing advertising.
  • Promoting a culture of self–care and fostering healthy lifestyles among employees and the general population.

Innovation in health and nutrition

In compliance with its commitment to its consumers and in line with global food trends, Grupo Nutresaevaluates innovative products considering its composition, and taking into account two dimensions: nutrients that should be limited and those that should beto restrict and nutrients toincreased. This helps to determine what constitutes an innovations in terms of health and nutrition.

To evaluate nutrition and health innovations, Grupo Nutresa focuses on the nutritional balance of the product,considering its energy, sodium, saturated fat and sugarscontribution, as well as its content of protein, fiber and fruit percentage, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and olive, rapeseed and walnut oils.

For 2030, Grupo Nutresa has set theatarget of ensuring that 50% of its product innovations meet the nutrition and health criteria.

Healthy lifestyles

Grupo Nutresa has worked relentlessly on deepeningedits understanding of healthy lifestyles. Thus, since 2015 and through the Nutresa brand, the Organizationhas presented a strategy that teaches and supports consumers in adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Through our vision, we state our interest in enhancing the consumers’ quality of life by means ofproducts that fulfill their needs in terms of wellness, health and enjoyment. Convinced of the fundamental role of food companies in the health and wellness of society, GrupoNutresa strives to be aware and understand the consumers’ nutritional needs.

Under the message “Enjoying life nourishes you,” this strategy is supported on four fundamental pillars: physical activity, a balanced diet, sharing time with the family, and enjoying the outdoors.

The purpose of the campaign is to promote the adoption of healthy lifestyles through real-life stories and memorable activities focused on education and awareness, with relevant, simple, positive and proactive contentsand messages.

This initiative supplements the “augmented reality” strategy, launched in 2013, which seeks to strengthen the consumers’ ability to make informed decisions.

Research on nutrition, health and well-being

For Grupo Nutresa, research as a component of the innovation model is conducted in the research centers of the multiple Business Unites and in Corporación Vidarium –Nutrition, Health and Well-Being Research Center.

Vidarium aims to generate scientific knowledge ion food, health and nutrition, and manage the transfer of knowledge to contribute to the development of the Grupo Nutresa’sbBusinessUnites and improve the quality of life in the different countries of its strategic region.

Vidarium prioritizes its research topics on obesity, cardiovascular health and gastrointestinal health through three research lines: modulation of oxidative processes, food modulators of the microbiota, and food components and other substances.

Nutrition Glossary

B

B complex vitamins

These are water–soluble vitamins, such as Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2) and Niacin (B3). Among other functions, they act as coenzymes in the metabolism of macronutrients to release energy.

C

Calcium

This is one of the most abundant minerals in the body; among its main functions are the formation and maintenance of bones and teeth, neurotransmission and muscular activity, blood clotting and regulation of nutrient transport in the cell membrane.

Calories

A term used to express the energy power of food. The nutrients that contribute energy to the organism are proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Technically, a calorie is defined as the amount of energy necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of pure water by one degree Centigrade (1°C), from 14,5°C to 15,5°C.

Carbohydrates

These are organic compounds, the molecule of which is formed by three simple elements: carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Carbohydrates include sugars and starches, which are the principal source of energy for the body.

Cholesterol

A sterol–like substance present in animal fats. It is essential for the formation of the plasma membrane, which regulates the entry and exit of substances that cross the cells.

D

Dietary or Dietetic fiber

These are carbohydrates, analogous of carbohydrates and lignin, which are not hydrolyzed by the endogenous enzymes of the human gastrointestinal tract. Dietary fiber may be soluble or insoluble.

F

Fats

These are substances that are insoluble in water and soluble in organic solvents, and are especially composed of esters of fatty acids. This term includes triglycerides, phospholipids, glycolipids, waxes and sterols. They constitute a very important source of energy for the body; they are part of the cell membrane, and they participate in hormone synthesis and the transport of fat–soluble vitamins (A, D, K and E).

Folic acid

A water–soluble vitamin, its main function is to participate as a cofactor in numerous enzymatic reactions, such as the synthesis of DNA and RNA, essential in cell division, the homocysteine metabolism, and the formation of erythrocytes and leukocytes in bone marrow.

I

Iron

A mineral essential for the body, it is part of hemoglobin, found in red blood cells and enzymes involved in different metabolic processes. It performs very important functions, such as transporting oxygen, the normal defense of the immune system, cell division, and cognitive performance.

M

Macronutrients

Those nutrients from which the body gets the energy necessary to perform its physiological functions for growth and physical activity. Proteins, fats and carbohydrates are macronutrients that should contribute to a healthy diet.

Micronutrients

These are substances that the body requires in small amounts; they have important functions and are essential to maintain proper health.

P

Proteins

Proteins are polymers of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Proteins are called simple when they consist of only amino acids; when called compound, they include other substances, such as lipids, carbohydrates, and minerals, etc. They are essential nutrients for growth and maintenance of tissues; they meet regulatory, enzymatic, hormonal, transport and defense functions in the body.

T

Trans fatty accids

This is a type of polyunsaturated fatty acid, the result of the industrialization (hydrogenation) that produces a change in its chemical structure. In small amounts, they are also found in milk and fat from ruminants.

S

Saturated fats or Saturated fatty acids

These are fats that do not have double bonds in their hydrocarbon chain. They are solid at room temperature.

Sodium

A nutrient that provides essential functions in the body, such as regulating blood pressure, transmitting nerve impulses from neurons and muscle contractions. Sodium is part of table salt, the composition of which is NaCl (sodium chloride), which provides one of the basic tastes, salty.

Sugar

These are monosaccharide and disaccharide carbohydrates naturally present in food or added to it.

V

Vitamin C

A water–soluble vitamin, it is essential for a number of important metabolic reactions in the body. It contributes to the formation of tissues, the absorption of iron and the healing processes. It is a vitamin that stands out for its antioxidant effect and has been associated as a factor favoring the immune system.

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