#217: Turning Calorie Conscious
I just finished my internship with this health, wellness and nutrition company. I was pretty happy with the report I turned it and pretty satisfied with what I got out of that whole experience. You see, reading around a hundred (or more sometimes) news articles a day from all over the world for weeks at a time brings you to a level wherein you start seeing patterns. Rarely do you get the chance to see the overall picture when you've been hired by a company and you're diving into the operational details to prove your worth. This was a rare opportunity to see things as they are, detached from any loyalties.
When you think about it, it's unbelievable how many calories we shove in our guts. The average amount for a person to function is 2,000 calories. But often we mindlessly take in calories via drinks. Our quenchers are often giving us 200 calories a glass. A large fries from your favorite fastfood is around 600 calories. Even without the burger, you've already consumed 40% of your recommended caloric intake for the day. You have another sugary drink in the afternoon, and without taking in real nutrients, you've already consumed half of your day's caloric needs. If you have a glass of sugary drink every meal (including morning and afternoon snacks), you're well on your way to being obese.
And then there's sodium. In the course of my research, I came across this product range that was considered by the company that launched it as a success in its first 10 months for having delivered sales of USD100 million. Linked to some diet fad in the US, it was quickly gobbled up by people who were clueless to the fact that a single serving of the stuff had sodium levels that were way above the total daily limit. Yes, they won't be fat, but boy, their blood pressure will be waiting to kill them. I can't believe how the company's marketing people allowed that to be launched. But then, I used to sell stuff that could potentially put kids at the risk of being obese and having diabetes. And all we could say is that it had Vitamin C.
And then there's saturated fats. Without pretending to know a lot, I'll just say that the stuff will send you closer to having a heart attack. Check out what you put on your pan de sals. The president of a company I used to work for, worked for a company that produced cheeses and spreads. He told me once that after having worked there, he wouldn't touch those things. Some of the things that called themselves 'cheese' have never met a cow at any point. But they were full of things that contributed to the high levels of saturated fat.
The thing that keeps on ringing in my head is how can these companies continue selling this crap? It's because they're the ones that have cheap ingredients, that are cheap to produce and that are easy to market at a low price point. And if by some marketing genius, it can be positioned to be a 'premium' offering, then that means fat margins for you, big bonuses for the bosses, and happiness for the investors.
Now I am not turning anti-business. (How ironic is that? Going away to take your MBA and returning to the workforce condemning businesses for making profits.) No. Businesses are meant to make profits. That's why they exist. Otherwise, they'd be charities. But there is a healthy balance of profits and providing products that will positively benefit consumers. There is a spot between charity and thievery.
All I am saying is that while consumers ought to be responsible for their food intake to avoid obesity or heart disease or what-have-you, manufacturers also have the reponsibility to provide products that aren't harmful to their consumers. When consumers want to be refreshed, they don't want to unknowingly send themselves close to having diabetes. When they want their cheese, they're supposed to be getting dairy and the benefits that come with that - not substitutes that taste like cheese but kill like grease. When they buy a serving, portion sizes should be such that they consider how a normal person should eat - and not what will maximize profits.
But then there are the parents that seem to have abdicated their role in keeping their kids' nutrition in check to fast food giants, big manufacturers or the government. They have busy lives so they eat to accommodate that instead of designing their lives around what will be good for the family. One of the companies that I was studying is actually aiming to launch more convenience meals to improve topline and margins. There's another reason to pay less attention to what you're stuffing down your and your kids throats - convenience. It scares me to think of what they'll put in those things to make them commercially viable.
So what do we make of this outpour? It is part of what I've gotten from the internship. It's this newly-found consciousness about how to eat with health, wellness and nutrition in mind. I've also gotten back on track with my fitness goals. (The company's employees have free access to the gym - complete with fitness assessment and specifically-designed exercise programs. As an intern, I was able to take advantage of this benefit as well.) One of my first questions in preparing to move into Northwestern University's campus was, "Does it have a gym?" (Thankfully, it does. And it's free.)
This whole rant is also a reflection, albeit a poorly-constructed one, of where I'm at in looking at my next career move. I want to be with a company that offers real benefit to its consumers. There are many products that just shouldn't exist but they continue to because they rake in the profits... and the consumers don't know any better. I would prefer to stand behind brands that have the right to exist first (in terms of addressing more than concocted and image-related needs), and have the right to fair levels of profits, second.
It seems a bit funny but I started writing this with a view that I have become cynical about things. Looking at my conclusions and next steps, I think I may have actually become more idealistic.
Idealistically yours, then.
