PepsiCo India with CII creates awareness around importance of nutrition

PepsiCo India through its brand Quaker and its wellbeing program ‘Pepfit’, in partnership with CII launched a series of awareness initiatives around nutrition and healthy eating. To mark Nutrition Month and World Food Day, series of sessions were organized featuring over +250 corporates and +150 colleges across the country. In addition, a special panel discussion in collaboration with CII on ‘Be The Real Fit’ was organized featuring Manoj Sarkar leading badminton athlete and Arjun Awardee.

Other eminent panelists included Vinita Bali, Chairperson, CII National Committee on Nutrition, Inoshi Sharma, Executive Director, FSSAI, Dr. Jagmeet Madan, National President, Indian Diabetic Association and Consulting Nutritionist, Priya Prakash, Founder and CEO, HealthSetGo and Pavitra Singh, CHRO, PepsiCo India.  The panelists spoke about pandemic impacting dietary and lifestyle habits of people and demystified what being real fit is. The panelists also spoke on the importance of incorporating wholegrains, protein-rich food, locally available fresh fruits, and vegetables to improve the nutritional quality of daily diet.

A nutrition series on “Be The Real Fit” was launched to create awareness around healthy eating and active lifestyle and to explain their linkages with health. Special sessions were conducted to address the growing concern on weight management, immunity and to build awareness on importance of wholesome breakfast & timely meals. In addition, free expert dietician consultation service will be extended as part of this programe where people can get 1:1 diet guidance from dieticians. These initiatives are in line with PepsiCo India’s commitment towards creating awareness about safe food, healthy and sustainable diets.

Speaking about the program Ms. Vinita Bali, Chairperson, CII National Committee on Nutrition said, “this pandemic has made people realise the value of health and the need to treat it as a priority. More people are reaching out for information on nutrition and health and hence the importance of the “right information” has become even more imperative. Nutrition communication is a very important part of the solution framework. Leveraging credible sources and platforms to provide authentic information including guidance on nutrition assessment, identification of nutritional risks both symptomatic and asymptomatic, has never been more important. CII continues to play the role of Convener for this dialogue and action".

Ms Inoshi Sharma, Executive Director, FSSAI emphasised on the three broad pillars i.e. Safe, Healthy and Sustainable food, which can easily be adapted in any setting as an effective and core strategy to eradicate not only malnutrition but also risings NCDs and food-borne illnesses. She also spoke about key initiatives and framework being provided by FSSAI including Eat Right Campus, programs focused on youth, consumers, and industry collaboration opportunities to collectively address the nutrition agenda.

Arjuna Awardee and Bronze Medallist, Tokyo 2020 Paralympics- Mr. Manoj Sarkar, emphasized on the importance of balanced, nutrient-dense, and timely meals and its effective utilization to keep the body balanced both physically and mentally based on the tailored nutrient requirements we have. As a key takeaway, he urges all the youth and budding sports enthusiasts to follow a healthy diet regime with physical activity to achieve sustainable health goals and not to go by experimenting short-cuts for quick results.  

On the sidelines of the panel discussion, Pavitra Singh , CHRO, PepsiCo India said “Covid-19 has forced us to re-evaluate the ways in which we live, work, learn and consume information. The pandemic brought more attention and focus to the importance of health and wellness. A recent study by Euromonitor and Quaker highlighted 44% of urban millennials, skipped breakfast and delayed meals due to increased household chores and late start to the day and over 60 percent were driven towards healthy immune system. As an organization we understand these nuances and the importance of giving employee ‘me’ time that helps them to balance both their personal and work life. Under our Pepfit initiative, we ensured guidelines are in place to help set work boundaries, ensured breaks in between meetings, and defined ‘no-meeting’ time zones to enable personal time.   

As per a recent survey by London-based market research major, Euromonitor International and PepsiCo India through its brand Quaker, 44% of urban millennials skipped breakfast and delayed meals due to increased household chores and a late start to the day and 64% of urban millennials were driven towards a healthy immune system. The survey also stated that 71% of urban millennials leaned towards the popularity of fad diets, including keto, intermittent fasting, and weekly detox plan, among others to maintain weight. The study further pointed out that increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, including oats, emerged as the key trend during COVID-19.

A series of highly informative videos have also been launched by brand Quaker to promote the importance of weight management and wholegrains.