Palm Oil

Free

No Palm Oil Labels

Challenges, Strategies and

Outcomes

Pietro Paganini

It’s a marketing tool

It will be a backfire

Italy and EU sweet & biscuits market in 2012-17:

• Saturated and extremely competitive

• Need to take market shares from competitors

• Need for a powerful marketing tool

Background

In this environment Labels and Free From Labels

become a powerful marketing tool

Background

Italian

S&B Market

Intl. Anti Palm Oil

Campaign

NGOs

S&R Market

2012

2016

EFSA

2013

2014

2015

2017

Retailers

Brand

• Debate rebalanced: from war to public discussion

• National anti PO policies vanished

• Local anti PO policies emerged

2017 Developments

• Ferrero Vs Delhaize in Belgium

• Comparative study

• Mkt Communication Committee

• AntiTrust initiative

• Economic Development Ministry

2017 Actions

• Delhaize removes labels after a court decision

• The ruling does not ban the Palm Oil Free

label

2017 Belgium

Comparative study

No palm oil more saturated fat:

Industry worries

“Free from” phobia

Less Saturated Fat?

Precautionary Principle

Marketing communication selfregulation

Committee

• COOP (retailer) is invited to stop using the

precautionary principle in its communication

• 67 tenders

• in 87 municipalities

• More than 76 schools

Tenders Excluding PO

AntiTrust

AntiTrust investigation

• PO ban from school tenders

• Abuse of the anti palm oil label

Decision is pending

Government/Bureaucracy

Economic Development Ministry

• Free from PO labels allowed only if

• less saturated fats

• more sustainability is demonstrated:

most labels are wrong and misleading

• How and who will enforce this recommendation?

2018 Scenario

• Free From public frustration

• Free from produces alternative reality (no science)

• Free from is dangerous for sustainability

• NGOs must oppose Free From Labels

• science wins over alternative facts

• No palm oil marketing tool is weakening

2018-22 Forecast

• S&B producers will drop the no palm oil label

• They might eventually return to palm oil

• They might use recommendations and rulings as

an excuse for their redemption

2018-20 Threats

• Anti PO international campaign (sun flower, soy,

etc) persistence

• Ideology and political obsession

• Industry reluctancy and timing

2018-20 Goal

The aim shall be to facilitate and speed up this

redemption process

The Boomerang is Back

2018 Work

• Legal action

• AntiTrust

• Media & education

• NGO, Industry & consumer engagement

GET IN TOUCH

ppaganini@competere.eu

pietropaganini.it