Who provides packaged foods in developing countries? Implications for nutrition policy

INTRODUCTION: Globalization has resulted in increased availability of packaged foods without concomitant improvement in nutrition quality. Combined with decreased physical activity, this dietary pattern has accelerated the burden of obesity and chronic diseases in most developing countries. Understanding the size of the packaged food market and the relative contribution of market leaders will aid policy development to improve nutrition quality of packaged foods. METHODS: Data were extracted from Euromonitor on packaged food market size and company share for Mexico, China, Brazil, India, South Africa and Russia. Contributions of packaged food categories and companies were assessed. RESULTS: The packaged food market ranges in size from $13.9 billion in South Africa to $120.3 billion in China. Dairy or bakery products lead packaged food sales in all countries. Individual packaged food companies account for a fraction of the large market share of top product categories that account for up to 44.3% of packaged food sales. For example, bakery products account for 29.2% of total packaged food sales in Brazil while the leading bakery company accounts for 4.2% of bakery sales. DISCUSSION: Policies to improve nutrition must include small- and medium-sized companies, the informal sector and the major multinational companies in order to effectively change the nutrition profile of packaged foods. Companies that account for large market share can lead the movement in reformulating products to limit nutrients of public health concern. Targeting the largest segment of the packaged food market and high volume brands and products hold the greatest promise for health impact.