Arla Foods joins EU Pledge

International dairy cooperative Arla Foods has joined the EU Pledge initiative on responsible food marketing to children. The company joins 21 other major international food brand owners, representing more than 80% of EU food and beverage advertising spend, who have committed to change what they advertise to children across Europe.

EU Pledge membership requires companies to commit to:

• No food and beverage advertising to children under 12 years, except for products which fulfil the EU Pledge common nutrition criteria, which set agreed thresholds per food category to determine what you can and cannot advertise to children under 12.


• No communication related to products in primary schools, except where specifically requested by, or agreed with, the school administration for educational purposes.

Launched in 2007 as a commitment of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) to the EU Commission’s Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, the EU Pledge programme has made dramatic changes to the types of food and beverage advertising children see not just in paid media but also via owned channels such as company websites and on-pack messages. All companies are independently monitored to ensure compliance.

The conditions of membership have also become increasing stringent since 2007 and now include:

• The definition of “advertising to children under 12 years” has been strengthened to cover media audiences of 35% or more children under 12, down from 50% at launch.


• Common nutrition criteria apply to all EU Pledge members that use nutrition guidelines for advertising products to children. Previously, members were able to use their own nutrition criteria.


• The scope of the commitment has been significantly extended and now covers TV, company-owned websites and third-party websites, print, radio, cinema, DVD/CD-ROM, direct marketing, product placement, interactive games, apps, mobile and SMS marketing. The 2007 launch initiative only covered TV, print and internet.


• The new policy also ensures that where no reliable audience measurement data is available, advertisers consider not only the placement, but also the overall impression of the marketing communication, to ensure that if the product in question does not meet the common nutrition criteria, the communication is not designed to appeal primarily to children.


• Companies are restricted from using celebrities, licensed characters and movie tie-ins that appeal primarily for under 12s for non-compliant products.

By joining the EU Pledge, Arla Foods commits to applying these standards across the EU by the end of 2017. In addition, Arla Foods will take part in the EU Pledge third-party monitoring programme undertaken annually. Member companies’ marketing practices are audited externally by Accenture and the European Advertising Standards Alliance, and the overall results are published at www.eu-pledge.eu and reported back to the Commission-led platform.

“Arla believes strongly in transparency and being an accountable company. Over the last years we have worked intensely on defining nutrition criteria for our product ranges and implementing a new policy for responsible marketing to children. We proudly join the EU Pledge because we consider the benchmarking and audits of the organization to be instrumental in increasing the transparency in the food industry that is needed to maintain trust among consumers”, said Hanne Sondergaard, EVP and CMO of Arla Foods.

Said Stephan Loerke, Chief Executive Officer of the World Federation of Advertisers: “We are delighted to welcome Arla Foods on board. The growing ranks of the EU Pledge initiative are testament to the initiative’s success in rallying responsible food and beverage advertisers around a common vision, contributing to the EU’s public health goals. It also responds to the European Commission’s calls to continue to broaden the scope of the initiative.”

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For media enquiries please contact:

Will Gilroy
w.gilroy@wfanet.org
Tel: +32 (0)2 506 57 40
Mobile: +32 499 20 32 20

 

Notes for editors:

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) is the voice of marketers worldwide, representing 90% of global marketing communications spend – roughly US$900 billion per annum – through a unique, global network of the world’s biggest markets and biggest marketers. WFA champions responsible and effective marketing communications worldwide. More information at www.wfanet.org

The EU platform for action on diet, physical activity and health is a forum for European-level organisations, ranging from the food industry to consumer protection NGOs, willing to commit to tackling current trends in diet and physical activity. The Platform is composed of the following members. The idea is that, led by the Commission, the platform will provide an example of coordinated action on this problem by different parts of society that will encourage national, regional or local initiatives across Europe. More information here.

Arla Foods is an international dairy company owned by 11.200 farmers from Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands. Arla Foods is one of the strongest players in the international dairy arena, with a wide range of dairy products of highest quality. Well-known brands like Arla®, Lurpak® and Castello® belong to the Arla family. Arla Foods is also the world's largest manufacturer of organic dairy products.

• EU Pledge infographic