Data from Kantar Worldpanel has shown the result of years of investment made by food and drink manufacturers to slash salt, sugar and calories from British diets.

The Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF) members’ products, which include the UK’s best-loved food alongside entrepreneurial brands, now have around 31% less salt and 30% less sugar, and 24% fewer calories compared to a decade ago.

The ‘Shaping a healthier future through food and drink‘ report illustrates a “wide variety” of food that manufacturers are producing to “help people achieve more balanced and varied diets amid busy lifestyles”.

FDF highlighted that its members produce a quarter of all food and drink sold in the UK, from products such as oats, yogurt, beans and frozen vegetables to ready meals, confectionary and “healthier” snacks.

In 2024, food and drink manufacturers invested around £180 million in healthier product innovation. This included modifying recipes to reduce sugar, calories and salt, developing new “healthier” products and changing portion sizes.

FDF revealed that brands were “helping make it easier for people to eat more servings of vegetables and grains”. It said that more than half of the Ben’s Original and Dolmio’s ready-to-eat meal range provides at least one portion of vegetables. Meanwhile, Bird’s Eye’s new ‘Steamfresh’ range has added more than 3.5 million additional portions of vegetables to the nation’s plates since its launch under than a year ago.

In another example of reformulation, PepsiCo has “transformed” its Doritos products to reduce the amount of salt and fat by 18% and 14% respectively. This followed a £13 million investment in R&D and new machinery to make changes to the cooking process and recipe.

FDF urges Government to support healthier diets

FDF called on Government to take “bold, coordinated action” across the food system to rethink how the UK supports the shift to healthier diets, building on existing policies. This includes mandatory reporting on the sales of healthier and less healthy products across manufacturing, retail and hospitality. It also means taking a “more consistent approach” to health policy across the entire food chain, ensuring customers have access to the same information that helps them to make healthier choices.

Additionally, FDF highlighted that with 41% of food and drink manufacturers compelled to scale back investment as they grapple with rising production costs and regulatory pressures, Government must open more R&D funding and science support to the food sector to sustain investment in healthier products. This includes through bolstering existing R&D tax credits, grants and capital allowance schemes.

It also called on UK Government to support small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in developing healthier products by replicating Scottish Government’s successful ‘Reformulation for Health’ programme. A fund of as little as £4 million to offer this scheme across the UK would transform SMEs ability to engage in healthier product innovation by mitigating costs and creating a network of expertise and support.

“We’re calling on the Government today to work in a more structured partnership with the entire food industry to deliver change.”

Karen Betts, chief executive of FDF, commented: “Food and drink manufacturers are playing a quiet but vital role in helping people achieve balanced diets amid the pressures of busy lives. Companies have made major progress in slashing the calories, salt and sugar in everyday food and drink – making the food people love better for them, alongside hugely expanding the range of healthy options.

“But tackling poor diets and lifestyles is a complex issue and needs a more joined-up approach. We’re calling on the Government today to work in a more structured partnership with the entire food industry to deliver change. It has a clear opportunity to do this in its upcoming Food Strategy, where we hope to see health policies that support industry to go further, and are consistent across existing regulation and across all parts of the sector. Rethinking this challenge, with holistic and coordinated action, will help us truly move the needle on this critical health challenge.”

Tesco calls for health transparency across the industry

This comes as UK supermarket Tesco called for the UK Government to implement mandatory healthier sales reporting, using a set of agreed and consistent health metrics, to “improve the health of the nation”. An open letter to the Health and Social Care Secretary was signed by Tesco, as well as charity partners Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK.

The retailer highlighted that with an inconsistency in how businesses report on the healthiness of their food and drink sales, it is “difficult to assess” the progress that is being made across the industry.

Ken Murphy, Tesco Group CEO, said: “There are more people living with obesity in the UK than ever before. Tesco, along with the food industry, has a critical part to play in supporting preventive health measures, through giving access to affordable, healthier, quality food.

“Through our partnership with Diabetes UK, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, we have shown that collaboration can drive meaningful change. But to truly support public health, we need consistent, transparent reporting across the industry. We urge the UK Government to take this important step forward to make healthier food sales reporting mandatory.”