Irena Merkaš, Head of Corporate Communications at Nestlé: Every Day, Our Business Touches Over a Billion People

The world’s largest food company will help 50 million children live healthier, increase the standard of living for 30 million people, and contribute to zero environmental pollution impact

The results of Nestlé’s Southeast market over the past nine months have achieved goals with a growth of 10.1 percent, with the Northern Adriatic region, which includes Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, contributing to market results with 9.6 percent organic growth. Irena Merkaš, head of corporate communications at Nestlé, explains that the growth was primarily driven by beverages like Nescafé in retail and the HoReCa channel, Purina pet food, and an excellent summer tourist season. She adds that long-term partners and distributors Alca, MPG, and MCI have also contributed to this success and emphasizes that Nestlé will continue to explore and push the boundaries of what is possible in nutrition, focusing on taste, nutritional value of products, and creating solutions that contribute to the betterment of the Earth. Therefore, for her, the plant-based range ‘Garden Gourmet’ is an important step in that direction.

How does Nestlé care for the health of its customers?

– The world is facing several health challenges. More than 38 million children under the age of five are overweight or obese, while at the same time, 47 million children of the same age are undernourished. Food is unevenly distributed around the world, with some eating too much nutritionally poor food, while others do not have enough food available. Nutritional value is not always well balanced, leading to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. Nestlé is the largest food company in the world that touches over a billion people daily with its business, so the responsibility is great. Every year, we offer more nutritious food and beverages, simplify ingredient lists, and remove artificial colors. We enrich staple foods with micronutrients to help address issues like anemia and fatigue. We reduce sugar, salt, and saturated fats in products while increasing the proportion of vegetables and whole grains. In 2020, we innovated and adapted ninety percent of Nestlé’s range in the Croatian market.

What are your socially responsible goals?

– We are focused on contributing to solving today’s fundamental problems, so we concentrate on three areas of action: nutrition and health, youth employment, and the environment. Nestlé will help 50 million children live healthier lives, increase the standard of living for 30 million people through its business, and contribute to zero environmental pollution impact. Through local projects like ‘VrtimZdraviFilm’, ‘Biraj zeleno’, and ‘Nestlé za mlade’, we contribute to these ambitious goals worldwide.

What do Nestlé’s initiatives bring?

– Through the ‘VrtimZdraviFilm’ project, we have been educating elementary school students about proper nutrition and the importance of regular physical activity for over ten years. More than 60,000 children and 15,000 parents have benefited from the education to date. This year, the project has made significant strides: as part of the ‘Petica’ program, we distributed 2000 seedlings to schools for preparing healthy meals, launched the first digital cookbook for parents and children, and produced six educational videos on reducing food waste featuring renowned chefs Mato Janković, Mario Mihelj, and Robert Hromalić.

How else do you impact the community?

– The ‘Nestlé Needs YOUth’ initiative for youth employment and better employability helps prepare young people for the job market. Over 2000 young people from Croatia have participated in various Nestlé job preparation programs in the past five years, with sixty employed. This year, we launched the first Croatian podcast for a better business future for youth, ‘TeenBiz 3u1’, in collaboration with Poslovni FM, and the second season of the free international program on sales, procurement, marketing, e-business, and communication, ‘Summer’s Cool’, prepared by Nestlé professionals and mentors. ‘Biraj zeleno’ has entered its second season this year, aiming to educate the public about the importance of reducing plastic use, responsible water use, and reducing food waste. Citizens’ advice from all over Croatia has been united into infographics by renowned illustrator Maja Tomljanović. In collaboration with Greencajta, we also presented the eco-exhibition ‘Clean Art’. In five artistic works made from waste materials, renowned artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina gave new purpose to demonstrate what the plant and animal world would look like if we do not start caring for it today. The priority of the initiatives is not to advertise Nestlé’s products but to make a concrete contribution to the community.