Positive Choices

Developing Food for Specified Health Uses Based on Research

Suntory currently offers a variety of products known as food for specified health uses (FOSHU^*) due to their positive health benefits. This portfolio lineup includes Black Oolong Tea OTPP, which was developed based on research results to apply prevention of fat absorption in polymerized polyphenols of oolong tea characteristics; Suntory Goma Mugicha (Barley Tea), which is suitable for people with high blood pressure; Pepsi Special, which prevents fat absorption; and Tokucha (FOSHU Iyemon), which is the world's first drink to clarify the lipolytic action of quercetin glycoside. Our portfolio also includes other products which contribute to our consumers’ well-being, such as Iyemon Plus, functional beverage which has the ability to lower bad cholesterol (LDL). For all of our products, we pay special attention to taste, and we will continue conducting product research and development to ensure that products both taste good and are good for you.

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  Foods for Specified Health Uses

Expanding Our Lineup of Products that are Healthy for the Mind and Body

For decades the expansion of the world beverage market has been driven by consumer demand for drinks, especially carbonated products, which contain large amounts of sugar. In recent years, there has been an accelerating shift in demand toward healthier and more natural drinks. Utilizing knowledge gained through many years of research in Japan regarding the development of low- and no-sugar beverages (such as tea and water), we are developing new beverages that are healthy for the mind and body.
In Vietnam we released Tea+ Oolong Tea, an oolong tea with Oolong Tea Polymerized Polyphenols (OTPP) that reduce fat absorption and mitigate the raise of neutral fat in blood, and in Indonesia we released MYTEA Oolong Tea. Both of these products have been received positively by consumers.

We have also released a low-sugar iced tea called MayTea in Europe. MayTea comes in a variety of flavors and was developed using Suntory’s expertise in tea products.
In addition to beverages, we also offer heath foods. Under the BRAND’s umbrella, we offer the much-loved Essence of Chicken supplement drink in Thailand and other Asian countries. Essence of Chicken is an all-natural extract made of fine quality chicken without artificial chemicals or preservatives.

Initiatives on Low- and No-Sugar Products

Suntory Beverage & Food is developing products that contain amounts as minimal as possible of sugar, artificial coloring, and artificial flavoring. In Europe, we have set a target to reduce the use of sugar in all our products by 35% by 2025 compared to 2015. We have already made progress toward this goal, and as the end of 2021, we have succeeded in reducing the amount of sugar used in our products by 23% compared to 2015. As well as re-formulating our drinks to lower the sugar content we are also putting investment behind our lower-calorie brand such as Lucozade Zero in the UK.
Across all European Export and Commercial Markets, the amount of sugar added to our beverages was reduced by 6% in 2021.

In the UK and Ireland we’ve reduced sugar across our core drink range by 57%, removing 25,000 tonnes of sugar and 98BN calories through a far-reaching reformulation programe. We’ve been bold with our decisions on our most famous drinks, introducing a zero or low-calorie alternative for each one of them.
In 2021, the total reduction of sugar was - 24% compared to 2006 on Oasis in France, without using sweeteners. All the recipes of the brand are renovated with less sugar and no sweetener while still retaining a delicious taste that consumers know and love!
In Spain we have managed to reduce the sugar in our drinks by 42% (vs 2015) and we have also introduced low calorie Schweppes Lemon, Orange, Pink, Ginger Ale, and recently/in 2022 also Agrum and Tonic Lemon.

In Oceania, we aim to increase the portion of our portfolio that is low- and no-sugar to 1/3 by 2030. As a road map for achieving the goal, we will promote 1) Lower sugar through innovation, leveraging Suntory Group relationship 2) Introduce greater choice through new products, 3)Continue to introduce smaller pack sizes. As of 2021, one in six drinks sold become low, or contain no sugar.

Reducing Artificial Colorings and Flavors

Suntory Beverage & Food focus on developing products that use a minimal amount of artificial colorings and flavors. In Europe, we have set a target to remove artificial colorings and flavors by 2025. In France, our product Oasis was renewed to a recipe which uses less sugar and only 100% natural ingredients. In the UK, Lucozade Revive is made from natural fruit flavors and does not use any artificial colorings.
In Indonesia, our product Good Mood is a popular low sugar beverage made from natural fruit extracts and does not include any preservatives, synthetic colorings, or synthetic sweeteners.

Appropriate Information Disclosure

The Suntory Group strives to offer information related to safety and reliability to the customers in an appropriate and timely manner. We also indicate information on product labels, commercials, and ads in a way that is clear and avoid misunderstanding. Furthermore, the Suntory Group’s Code of Business Ethics stipulates that we must conduct responsible marketing as a corporate group that offers diverse products and services.
We promote the display of accurate product information in a way that is accessible and easily understood by consumers. In order to ensure the accuracy of product information, we collaborate with the related divisions in charge of development and production, and also confirm the compliancy and accuracy of disclosed information through our Quality Assurance Division.
In Japan, Suntory conducts thorough reviews of raw ingredients used in our products in order to display energy, carbohydrates, and sodium chloride (salt equivalent) as well as confirm the need for allergen labeling. We are sure to include not just the 7 items required by law to be shown on our labels, but the 20 items recommended to be displayed.
In Oceania, adapting the Health Star Rating^* food labeling scheme for the customers to make choices on which product to choose.

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  Health Star Rating System…A front-of-pack labeling system that ranks and labels packaged food's overall nutrition profile from half a star to five stars.

Product Information

Responsible Marketing

Suntory Beverage & Food Europe participate in UNESDA’s^* responsible marketing in schools program.
We have become a founding signatory of the new EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices in 2021. Our commitments towards reformulation of our drinks, food waste reduction and the creation of sustainable packaging fully support the EU’s objective to place healthier products on the market and to support the transition towards a circular economy.
The UK has created its own voluntary marketing code to ensure that responsible corporate citizenship is at the heart of everything we do. This includes our commitment not to directly market products categorized as high in fat, sugar and salt (“HFSS”) to consumers who are under the age of 16, and under the age of 18 in Ireland.
In France, we volunteered in 2009 to not communicate on screens and in magazines aimed specifically at children under the age of 12-year-old. Since 2013, our commitments go further because we prohibit all advertising in generalist programes where children constitute more than 35% of the audience.
In Spain, our code of marketing practice specifically states that we do not advertise to children under 12 years of age or sponsor events aimed at children in schools. We also convey messages in all our advertising campaigns promoting healthy lifestyle habits. In Oceania, we are ensuring our marketing activities are responsible and do not actively target children. Also we partnered with New Zealand government as part of the Healthy Kids Industry Pledge. We directly sell only water to primary and intermediate schools in New Zealand.

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  UNESDA = Union of EU (European Union) Soft Drinks Associations

Proposal of Healthier Lifestyle

In accordance with our aim to be a company which promotes consumer well-being, we launched the "100 Year Life Project" in 2018 in Japan. This project supports consumers in their efforts to achieve healthy and positive lifestyles in line with their own goals. We also promote joint research with external experts, conduct research and development to strengthen our portfolio of beverages that address lifestyle diseases, and run programs to improve lifestyle habits.
In Europe, we published the Moving on Health and Wellbeing Report and are promoting various initiatives such as providing active lifestyle programs to approximately one million people, reducing the amount of sugar used in our major brands by half, engaging with employees to develop more effective health programs in the office, and promoting the physical and mental wellbeing of all employees in the workplace.

Sesamin – From Elucidation of Function to the Launch of Heath Food Product

Taking on the challenge of clarifying the functions of sesame, which has been known to be good for health, we have scientifically proven the health benefits of ” Sesamin,” one of the sesame lignans found in a small amount in sesame seeds. We commercialized it into our first health food product in 1993.
Subsequently, we launched “Sesamin EX,” a powered-up version that combines vitamin E, tocotrienols, and brown rice-derived ingredient “Oryza Plus.”
Suntory Wellness also sells a variety of other health food products such as "DHA & EPA + Sesamin EX," "Locomoa," and "Omega Aid."

Making each Customer's lifestyle shine throughout their lives

As customers get older, their health conditions, way of living and purpose in life change, causing their lifestyles to become more diverse. At Suntory Wellness, we help customers of all ages live full and bright lives, by providing products and services that meet their individual needs throughout their lives, leveraging the power of science that we have cultivated over many years, the power of communication we have mastered through our close engagement with customers, as well as the latest digital technology.

With this in mind, Suntory Wellness promote "Be supporters!" project which is built around the concept of "providing opportunities to shine for everyone who wants to be excited no matter how old they are." This project aims to make people who usually need support for daily lives such as elderly people living in nursing care facilities and people with dementia, become healthy both physically and mentally by encouraging them to become supporters of a local soccor club.

Promoting Communication with Customers

We are delivering a wide-range of information to customers through our website and booklets

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  Suntory Global Innovation Center website

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  Healthy Drink NAVI website

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  Suntory Wellness website (Japanese)