Page 16 - Food&Drink September 2019

BUSINESS INSIGHT
The social licence of sugar
Sugar is in most food and drinks and it is time for the food and beverage industry to embrace this fact, own it, and demonstrate a genuine concern for people’s health, says Futureye managing director, Katherine Teh.
16 | Food&Drink business | September 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
EMBRACING, owning and demonstrating genuine concern for people’s health is, of course, a challenge because society’s increasingly negative attitude towards sugar is encouraging a view that it is ‘bad’ for us.
There is even talk of a sugar tax. A disaster! Companies would be forced to either increase the price of their products or remove the sugar content – risking a drop in sales, either because of cost implications or lack of flavour.
This is about social licence. A social licence is the tacit agreement by society that an organisation’s practices and products are acceptable and aligned with society’s values. Once secured, a social licence must be maintained. If society begins to question the actions of an organisation, it can withdraw its agreement, or ‘cancel’ the licence.
Sugar is a natural food that is part of our daily diet. By stepping back from the discussion, the food and beverage industry has allowed society to begin to believe that sugar, almost alone, is causing obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and dental problems. Sugar’s ‘evils’ have been well communicated.
It is time for the food and beverage industry to step up and join the discussion. But this doesn’t mean simply advocating healthy eating; it must do so by acknowledging its use of sugar and fully engaging with society’s concerns.
You see, once the public begins to lose trust, presenting facts and figures will not change its collective mind. Trust only returns when an industry or organisation clearly demonstrates a genuine understanding of the public’s concern. The industry or the organisation then must go
further and show that it can work with consumers – and government if necessary – to honestly and transparently address the concerns.
It’s not all bad. Sugar provides energy, and glucose provides stamina. Sugar is proven to provide a positive mood boost
– it is in our genes! Chocolate does not only
contain natural sugar, it also has other healthy components such as antioxidants and cocoa flavinols that can improve cognitive function.
Importantly, fresh fruit contains not only natural sources of sugar, it also has other healthy nutrients.
Nevertheless, if these benefits are overtly and bluntly promoted by the industry, it is unlikely to win public confidence.
In my company’s work with other industries, we have established a process to make this happen. You will not see this in the media because the negative stories stop, and the businesses quietly work with their stakeholders – openly and transparently addressing concerns – and get on with their successful businesses.
In our experience, securing a social licence means that a company or industry has demonstrated that it is prepared to listen to societal concerns, engage and seek mutually acceptable outcomes wherever possible.
It means companies and industries must be prepared to do things differently in order to maintain a successful business.
The sugar industry must not simply deny the public’s concerns and highlight the excellent benefits as mentioned above. It must address society’s concern about a healthy diet and become one of the champions of healthy food. And