Wellness is not just about not being sick

MANILA, Philippines - Different companies, particularly in the food and beverage categories, have adopted wellness in recent years as a theme for connecting with consumers. Undeniably, nowadays, consumers have greater awareness about health and wellness issues than in the past.

How exactly do consumers look at wellness?

“In one of our recent research projects, we went to consumers’ homes to ask and experience what wellness is to them. By and large, consumers think wellness is about ‘walang sakit.’ Having someone in the family getting sick will destroy the equilibrium in their lives,” says Corporate Wellness head Leslie Go-Alcantara of Nestlé Philippines.

“For parents, it’s giving the best to their children, ensuring that they’re healthy. They will strive to provide everything within their reach that’s best for a child as long as they know it’s healthy — fruits, vegetables — to help their child avoid illness. As the Filipino families’ kasambuhay habambuhay, we take our mission of nurturing Filipino families to heart.   We are committed to provide products and services that could be of great help to the family in pursuit of nutrition, health and wellness,” Leslie adds.

As for other facets of wellness, consumer attitudes have evolved over time.  According to Nestlé corporate nutritionist Kaths Sarmiento, research conducted in 2005 showed that consumers defined wellness as engaging in more physical activity.  Now, there is recognition of the importance of food intake.  “What we eat and how much we eat impact greatly on wellness.  That is why our nutrition, health and wellness program embraces a holistic approach with education as a critical component of it,” Kaths explains.

Over the years, guided by evolving consumer interests and needs, Nestlé has likewise evolved its Choose Wellness initiative which now includes five major components:

• Nutrition counselling, which commenced in 2005, as an avenue to help consumers assess their nutritional state and educate them on how to eat right, is now held nationwide with professionals providing free nutrition counselling to consumers.  To date, more than five million Filipinos have been counselled through this Nestlé activity.

• To further spread the message of wellness to various areas nationwide, Nestlé also holds physical activity events called Choose Wellness weekends at different parks in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, in which nutritionists monitor the nutrition status of participants, and fitness coaches teach Zumba and aerobics.

• As a separate fitness initiative, Nestlé sponsors coach Jim Saret’s FitFil (Fit Filipino) Movement, a boot camp with 15 sessions in which the company’s nutrition consultants extend proper dietary coaching.

• Starting in 2009, Nestlé has been holding the annual Choose Wellness Expo, during which some 25,000 visitors join a weekend celebration of Wellness in its different dimensions through fun, participatory activities, featuring the specific contributions of Nestlé brands to consumer wellness.