It’s too expensive to invest in a low-sodium initiative.
Several major brands have already taken the first steps toward developing low-sodium menu options. Dunkin’ Donuts has its DDSMART menu, Burger King serves ham that’s 40 percent lower in sodium, and Yum! Brands reduced its use of salt by more than 85 tons per year on its UK menu. None were willing to give details since the information was proprietary, so instead QSR tapped the Campbell’s Soup Co., an industry leader when it comes to reducing salt content.
Campbell’s boasts a portfolio of low-sodium offerings including a 25% Less Sodium line, a Low Sodium line, and a Healthy Request line, which has up to 45 percent less sodium than traditional soups. What there isn’t less of are profits. According to the company’s first-quarter sales report for Fiscal 2009, ready-to-serve soup sales increased 7 percent because of the successful launch of several healthy soup varieties like Select Harvest and V8 Soups.
Bill Bangs openly admits that it was no small feat to get Campbell’s low-sodium program to where it is today. “We’re still learning,” he says. “Each product requires a different amount of time to develop. If the product is new, it doesn’t take anywhere near as long.”
The concept of low-sodium soups was born from the company’s first health-conscious line 25 years ago. Then recently, in 2005, the initiative accelerated and took priority. “The No. 1 strategy in the company right now is getting into the wellness arena,” Bangs says. “So we’re trying to take sodium down to healthy levels across all our lines.”
Campbell’s works diligently to couple technology and culinary expertise in order to tackle its toughest challenge: Reduce sodium levels while maintaining taste. “There is no replacement for sodium chloride itself,” Bangs says. “Sodium chloride by itself is a very unique ingredient that has no replacement options in the industry, so we’re leveraging sea salt and flavors.”
Bangs emphasizes that within the company there is a sense of responsibility in offering the most nutritional products possible. “The idea is that the soups have to have some benefit, but they also have to have a great-tasting profile,” he says. “They have to meet the profile that Campbell’s consumers expect and demand. The reason that it’s working well is that it tastes great and we’re taking the sodium out.”
But it’s not just a sodium-free Cinderella story at Campbell’s. The sodium research at the foundation of the program is expensive and takes time to cultivate, and although the government has no problem instilling sodium guidelines, there is no financial help in developing solutions.
“Anyone who wants to do this, who’s not investing in it, isn’t going to be able to do this very well,” Bangs says. For brands looking to reduce the use of sodium in their foods, Bangs recommends working through suppliers or companies like Campbell’s that can draw on a wealth of research and development.
Consumers prefer salty foods.
Today, consumers and government officials are wiser. They know that there are numerous health concerns surrounding fast-food fare but are also realistic. When offered the choice between a fruit cup and a side of fries, consumers often choose fries—and that’s just the honest truth. In order to combat the obesity epidemic and the cardio vascular symptoms associated with carrying extra weight, the idea of “stealth health” is beginning to gain momentum.
In October 2008 and then again in February, Dr. Thomas Frieden, commissioner of health for New York City, called together leaders in the processed foods segment and the heads of chain restaurants to get their cooperation for his plan. He aims to gradually reduce salt from the food supply at a rate slow enough that consumers will not notice. And he’s going to the top national brands because he believes they, in comparison with fine-dining establishments, can make the biggest difference not just in New York City but also across the country. While Frieden only controls health issues in New York City, the commissioner is presenting the plan as a “national salt-reduction initiative.”
“Salt is an addicting substance,” says Bob Greene, who has been Oprah Winfrey’s personal health and fitness expert for more than a decade. “We start out early in life with a few hints of salt, and every few months it takes more and more to get that same kind of pleasure hit.”
Already companies such as Cargill are preparing to help food manufacturers reach low-sodium goals.
“The market for reduced-sodium foods is a billion-dollar industry and is expected to grow,” says Cargill Salt’s marketing manager, Carlos Rodriguez. “Introductions of products carrying low-salt or low-sodium claims more than doubled from 2002 to 2007.”
To tap into the growing market, Cargill introduced its SaltWise program, which works with several food manufacturers to reduce sodium counts 25 to 50 percent by using a proprietary blend of ingredients that can be adjusted based on manufacturer and product needs. Specific brand names are withheld due to confidentially agreements.
“There’s a big push to covertly remove the sodium,” Greene says of quick-serve brands. “People walk away from calorie-restricted food. You don’t want to have to put ‘reduced sodium’ on the package because people will reach for the product next to it that doesn’t say that.”