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The Health Footprint-Making Food Sustainability a Trend Aastha Malhotra IMT Ghaziabad, Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Tanya Srivastava IMT Ghaziabad, Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Toshaali Ghosh IMT Ghaziabad, Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Food Sustainability is an amalgamation of basic instincts mingled with corporate governance and citizenship.

ABSTRACT The idea of this paper is to involve people by means of social media and mobile applications encouraging a healthy lifestyle.

This three phased plan begins with the Calorie logging application which motivates obese people to become fit by way of keeping a calorie count of their food intake and accumulate reward points (stars).The next step is to urge the food manufacturers and fast food outlets to change their packaging to include QR codes to be read via an Android app which communicates and allows comparison between different food and beverage items. The final and most crucial step in this endeavor is the “Health Footprint” application which allows diners to rate their favorite restaurant in terms of the healthy food options it has, cooking practices and minimization of food wastage.

Corporates and food chains dwindle between acceptance and denial. Examples of these are organizations like Mondelez International which strive to strike a balance between obesity and hunger.[2] An organization famous for its chocolates world over, they have reduced over 6000 metric tonnes from 1000 American products, lay emphasis on nutrition labeling and inculcate the use of whole grains in diet. Restaurant chains like Ruby Tuesday have started cooking in canola oil. Jason Deli, a sandwiches restaurant has started cooking in healthier oils. On the contrary, since fast food is purchased hot it is not required to have a nutrition label.

McDonald’s and StarBucks do not attach nutrition facts to their offerings.[3] Fried and calorie dense food are not only a perpetrator of obesity, heart diseases and cholesterol but also utilizes excess energy in order to be cooked. Taco Bell’s Nachos Bell Grande contains trans-fat.

We believe that these steps will engage today’s technology driven consumer by integrating food sustainability in his/her daily routine. It will also make the suppliers of food (restaurants, packaged food manufacturers etc.) more responsive towards the idea of “Food for Health”.

Categories and Subject Descriptors [Food For Health]; [Food For Culture]

Keywords Restaurants, Calorie Logging, Social Media, Health Footprint, Smart Phones.

1. INTRODUCTION: AIMS AND BACKGROUND Sustainability is best defined by Deloitte which talks about a “sustainable board”. They mention the term “finite planet” repeatedly in order to emphasize on the limited number of resources and how they must be judiciously utilised.[1]

Figure 1. Main components to be developed

Food Sustainability is often perceived as a term which the lay person finds difficult to associate with. For them it could be the mere provision of organic fertilizers or the benefit of the coffee farmers at the bottom of the pyramid. However, what is needed is percolation. For citizens across the world to realize that it is not a fancy government issued policy. It is a way of life. It emphasizes on Pareto’s Optimality that “One’s gain implies another’s loss”.

2. DESCRIPTION The proposal hence is to educate the end user and inculcate health and food sustainability as a trend into their lifestyle. The world now believes in co-creation. Demand at food chains can hence be steered by educating the customer about healthier choices on the menu.

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restaurant, the color of the “Check-In” can be modified according to the ratings as Green/Yellow/Red. E.g. Aastha Malhotra is Eating at – Subway. The green implies that Subway has received an average rating of being Green. At the consumers end the Facebook users who rate the most on the “Health Footprint” application should have a Health section on their Facebook profile. Same applies for obese users who regularly log their calories and receive stars on the calorie logging application as described in Phase 1.

Phase 1, includes encouraging obese consumer to log his or her calories consumed in a day so that they can slim down and decrease their chances of developing chronic disorders.

The various calorie logging mobile application like Noom, provide features such as displaying the ideal number of calories which you should consume in a day on the basis of your BMI. Calorie logging applications also have communities and forums so that like-minded people can keep a check on each other’s diet and work out together. The application expects you to log calories each day in a combination of Green- Heart Healthy Foods; YellowMinimum Damage foods and Red- Damage food in a specific proportion and gives daily “Stars” to each user. The hunger for “Stars” in the application inculcates user engagement. These “Stars” can also be shared on Social Media such as Facebook.

In order to make the ‘”Health Footprint” application a trend, Barilla must tie up with Facebook. We have selected Facebook as it is the most popular social network across countries.[4] Also, the “Health Footprint” application must have a waiting sequence like that of the “Graph Search” so that it creates user anxiety even before its launch. [5] We encourage Barilla to focus on tie ups with chains like the “Soul Kitchen ”in order to make this generation aware about food sustainability and the role that they can play for it. We also propagate the idea of Suspended Coffee where customers pay for an extra coffee and restaurants flash the number of suspended coffees available so that a hungry person can enjoy his brew. [6]

Phase 2, emphasizes on Point of Sales promotion of Health Facts. The promotion however is incomplete without the involvement of social media and mobile marketing. In this phase each fast food offering in a package must have a QR Code. This QR code must be present like the green or red denoting the vegetarian or non-vegetarian category on the outer packaging such as the plastic glass, for example on Latte served by Barista or Choco Frappe by Café Coffee Day. The QR Code can then be scanned by a mobile application which reveals the number of calories contained in the consumption. Thus a consumer might shift from a Syrupy Cinnabon to a healthier option available at the same outlet after checking the calories. The second phase not only educates the customers but also imbibes the spirit of healthy offerings at food chains for obese people who tend to fall for unhealthy cravings.

4. CONCLUDING REMARKS We wish to emphasize on creating a community of aware citizens across the world who respect “Finite Resources” and strive to make their contribution towards a sustainable world.

Acknowledgments: The project is important for us as Marketing students as it helps us to analyse our skills as Social Marketers. In addition to this we Aastha, Tanya and Toshaali are three different body types, we all wish to be healthy and believe in creating an impact through Lifestyle Marketing. We thank Barilla Centre For Food and Nutrition for this brilliant opportunity.

Phase 3, aims at social pressure on individuals as well as food chains. Barilla in collaboration with Facebook can create a “Health Footprint” application. The application must contain a list of all restaurants such as Taco Bell, Amici, Starbucks, Cinnabon, Boombox, Hard Rock Café etc. and the users are expected to rate their offerings as Green, Yellow or Red on a 6 point scale. The application evaluates the Health Footprint of the brand. This rating will also take into account the cooking practices followed and whether the restaurant strives to minimize the quantity of food wastage. It ensures that restaurants which have large number of unhealthy offerings are compelled to increase their healthy options. It also ensures that consumers are engaged in the rating process on social media. Rating a restaurant implies that either you have visited a restaurant or desire to be in the same league even if it’s a fine-dine serve. It acts as an addition to your social quotient on Facebook.

5. REFERENCES [1] Deloitte 2010. The Sustainable Board-Centre for Corporate

Governance [2] Mondelez International, 2010. Creating A More Delecious World [3] Stevana G. Aldana, R.,and Burgleman, 2012. The Stop and Go: Fast Food Nutrition Guide Pg-1-6.

[4] Jennifer Booton, Fox Business, 2013. Investors Cheer as Facebook Approaches May 2012 IPO

3. APPLICATION AND RESULTS

[5] Steve Cooper. Forbes 2013. 7 Facebook Graph Searches that will give your Business an Edge

In order to ensure participation, when Facebook users rate the application, the overall average rating of each food-chain can be calculated. This average rating can be refreshed from time to time.

Thus, when a consumer creates a “Check-In” at a particular

[6] suspendedcoffee.com.au/how-it-works

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