How multinationals use covid-19 to sell junk food

On April 22, 2020, when almost the entire planet was confined due to covid-19 and the most absolute uncertainty was the daily bread for citizens, governments and companies, the president and CEO of Coca-Cola Company , James Quincey, sent a reassuring message to shareholders at the annual meeting of the multinational: "Although there are still many unknowns ahead, we know that throughout 134 years of business activity we have seen many types of crises, be they military economic or pandemic, and Coca-Cola has always emerged stronger in the end. "

Quincey's words advanced, in some way, the attitude of his company and of many others in the course of the following months: "If you cannot beat the enemy, join him" has been the premise for the large multinationals that trade with unhealthy products such as tobacco, alcohol, sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods, as they have taken advantage of the pandemic to increase their profits.

This is highlighted by the findings of an investigation published this Thursday with the title

You guys at @krispykremeUK Enfield sure know how to put a smile on our staff's faces! 😃 1,500 donuts delivered to our staff at Barnet Hospital- # glazeamaze.

🍩 @ RoyalFreeChty pic.twitter.com/XpmUu4aS5f

- Royal Free London (@RoyalFreeNHS) April 21, 2020

"Since the early days of the pandemic, we have observed two trends: growing epidemiological evidence that people living with Noncommunicable Diseases are suffering the most from covid-19, and that many producers of unhealthy products have quickly adapted their strategies in an attempt to capitalize on the pandemic and the confinements ", says Lucy Westerman, co-author of the research, which was presented this Thursday in the framework of the Global Week of Action on NCDs.

The consumption of these products and the lack of exercise favor the appearance of so-called non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory ailments.

Also obesity, which is a risk factor to end up contracting some of them.

And all of them cause about 70% of deaths in the world, about 41 million deaths a year, says the World Health Organization.

As has been shown in recent times, those who suffer from them have a greater chance that the Sars-CoV2 virus will attack them with greater virulence.

Even mortality is higher in these patients.

Westerman is Policy and Campaign Manager for the NCD Alliance, a network of more than 2,000 organizations working to prevent NCDs.

This society and the Spectrum organization, whose work follows the same line, have been collecting examples around the world that demonstrate how the industry of these unhealthy products is capitalizing on the situation.

"It is a bitter irony that companies whose products such as tobacco, alcohol and junk food increase the risk of noncommunicable diseases, putting people at greater risk of the pandemic, have positioned themselves as heroes and partners in the response. and they have interfered in public policies that seek to protect the health of the population, "criticizes Westerman.

Researchers have found 786 stocks in more than 90 countries, mainly in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, India, Mexico, Brazil and Jamaica.

A vast majority of the examples come from the alcohol industry and manufacturers of ultra-processed foods and beverages, although cases have also been found among breastmilk substitutes, fossil fuels, gambling, and tobacco that have sought profit through four main strategies.

Researchers have found 786 stocks in more than 90 countries, mostly from the alcohol industry and manufacturers of ultra-processed foods and beverages.

Promotion and marketing with the coronavirus

During the early stages of COVID-19 in which several countries introduced lockdown measures, companies were quick to adapt their promotional and marketing strategies.

The most common is that they try to link their products with the work of health professionals and emergency services given the good image they have acquired due to their work.

McDonalds launched a campaign in Missouri (United States) with which he gave health workers a hamburger "for the wonderful things" they were doing, and in return they had to take a selfie while eating.

For every photo received, a free menu would be donated to a food bank.

Burger King eliminated food delivery costs and donated a quarter of a million hamburgers to the American Federation of Nurses.

The multinational donut company Krispy Kreme launched a campaign in the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to give gift packages of donuts to anyone who shows their health professional accreditation.

Coca Cola redesigned the labels of its bottles and cans with a "thank you" in several languages, and PepsiCo did the same in China to honor those who were fighting on the front lines against the pandemic.

In Canada, Subway gave away a mask for the purchase of two snacks. 

Corporate social responsibility

Unhealthy product companies have created philanthropic and corporate social responsibility initiatives as a strategy to enhance their reputations and build greater consumer loyalty, and the problem of poverty and shortage of donations has been addressed.

In India, Budweiser partnered with media outlet Mixmag to broadcast live DJ sessions and donating an amount of money for each viewer to an NGO.

In Paraguay, Coca Cola donated personal protective equipment to the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, including 22,000 surgical masks, 5,000 N95 respirators and 2,000 surgical gowns.

South African Breweries (SAB) claims to have donated 100,000 face shields made from recycled beer crates to a regional health department.

Promotional image of the alliance between Coca Cola and the UN Development Program.

In addition, the establishment of emergency funds against covid-19 in several sub-Saharan African countries has given these industries the opportunity to improve their image.

For example, in Kenya, the largest contributor to the emergency fund launched by Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is BAT Kenya, the country's largest tobacco company.

Deep down in Uganda, the same has happened with the Coca Cola Company and the tobacco companies Leaf Tobacco and Merchandise Ltd and Meridian Tobacco Company.

Search for partnerships and associations

Various multinationals have partnered with government agencies in countries, with hospitals, with international organizations and health agencies and NGOs, presenting themselves as allies when it comes to contributing to health and development.

And they have also lobbied to create or modify policies according to their interests.

For example, in both Central Asia and Latin America, the Coca-Cola Foundation has engaged with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in covid-19 response initiatives to promote health and sustainable development. .

In Romania, Philip Morris donated € 900,000 for medical equipment and ventilators through the Red Cross and Heineken contributed € 15 million to the Red Cross in the Netherlands.

In India, Cadbury launched a special edition of candy bars with the word "Thank you" in multiple languages.

Cadbury

Also, as governments enacted containment measures, tobacco, alcohol and processed food producers lobbied for their products to be categorized as part of the essential supply chain so that their manufacture, distribution and sale would not be interrupted during closures. national.

It has happened in Bangladesh and Kenya, and in the European Union, pressure groups called on governments to guarantee production and distribution while unions called for a pause in non-essential production to protect the health and safety of workers.

Similarly, there have been examples of how some industries have sought exemptions or relaxation of regulatory restrictions on their activities during periods of lockdown, particularly in high-income countries, where these tend to be more restrictive.

One case was that of the Canadian government when it was pressured by the oil industry to suspend environmental regulations related to pollution control and indigenous rights during the covid-19 crisis.

In Europe, automakers called for a delay in introducing industry carbon targets due to COVID-19.

Influence on policy making

Researchers have found evidence that the unhealthy product industries have taken the crisis as an opportunity to shape long-term policy, particularly in the alcohol industry: beer producers in Europe and North America have actively haunted to governments to introduce or expand tax breaks in the medium term: For example, beer producers in Europe have called for VAT reductions to support the alcohol industry after the pandemic.

The multinational llva Saronno, a liquor producer, donated 100,000 bottles of disinfectant gel to the Pharmaceutical Bank of Italy.

Sarono takes

Specifically, the German government's decision to reduce the alcohol sales tax from 19% to 16% has been singled out by the European beer industry as a "creative" initiative.

Industry representatives called on the European Commission to encourage other member states to offer a similar tax break as part of the post-pandemic recovery plan and launched a campaign called #Reconnect to generate public support for such measures.

In response, the European Commission noted that it had “suggested to member states to show flexibility”.

In the end, not in all cases these strategies have resulted in a higher level of sales.

Coca Cola Company lost 31% of its profits in the second quarter of the year.

Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King and other brands, also had a similar loss, more than 25%;

McDonalds posted its worst performance in 13 years in the second quarter of 2020.

As for tobacco and alcohol, the case of Spain is representative of other countries: sales of both products have decreased compared to the previous year, mainly due to the closure of the hotel trade and the prohibition to leave the house.

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