Nestlé continues to work on improving its Nutritional Compass product labeling system aimed to help consumers make more informed choices about a healthy balanced diet.
Photo: Nestle CSV’s photostream on Flickr

The Nutritional Compass is an informational circle with the Company’s corporate brand logo at its centre, divided into four information boxes and is found on 97% of Nestlé products worldwide.

The design of the Compass that was launched in 2005 is simple and clear with the figures listings, explaining nutritional details of a product.

Nestlé created the Compass believing that all foods and beverages can be enjoyable and can play an important role in a balanced and healthy diet and lifestyle. The updated Compass includes specific questions that are most important for the customers: the organic balance of taste and pleasure.

New ‘boxes’ of the Nutritional Compass include:

A new ‘Good Question’ box is featuring product specific queries such as ‘How many cups of coffee can I have in one day?’ The answer can be found in the ‘Good to Know’ box, where the Nestlé provides a direct response, such as ‘Three to five cups of Nescafé coffee fit well into a balanced lifestyle’.

A ‘Good to Remember’ box offers supporting information based on Nestlé’s expertise in areas such as nutrition, health, science, quality and safety. It is now combined with a ‘Good to Talk’ box, which provides contact details for the relevant brand consumer services teams.

In addition, a Nutritional Information box explains the amount of specific nutrients the product contains, such as protein, carbohydrate, fat and sugar.

Nestlé’s research revealed that 60% of consumers find the Nutritional Compass more helpful than other comparable product information systems, so the Company is exploring other ways to develop it in different contexts expanding it to in-store promotions, posters, booklets, leaflets.

For instance, in Poland, Nestlé has already partnered with two major retailers to create an in-store Nutritional Compass campaign, offering consumers nutrition education and customized nutrition advice. In India, Nestlé has adapted the Nutritional Compass for use on mobile phone platforms to provide busy consumers with rapid access to nutrition, health and wellness information. The free mobile app offers healthy recipes, a shopping list function, and options to share recipes and healthy eating tips with family and friends.

Currently, Nestlé is also running the ‘Taste of Home’ campaign in collaboration with small businesses in Europe.