Gerber
Evidence of violations of the International Code of Marketing
of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent resolutions
G
Daniel Vasella erber is the US leader in complementary foods and has
CEO, Novartis 80 percent of the US market, the world’s biggest. The
Lichtstrasse 35, CH-4002 company sells other baby care products and offers “ju-
Basel, Switzerland venile” life insurance. Founded in 1928, Gerber is a significant
Tel: +41 61 324 1111 player in Central America and operates in more than 50 countries,
Fax : +41 61 324 8001 selling 300 food products for infants and toddlers.
In September 2007, Nestlé completed the acquisition of Gerber
(as of September 2007) from Swiss-based Novartis for US$5.5 billion and in one fell
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe swoop, is catapulted to the top of the US complementary foods
CEO market. Buying Gerber confers upon Nestlé a dedicated sales-
Nestlé S.A force and leverage with retailers in the US. Its largest competitors
Avenue Nestlé 55 there, Abbott-Ross and Mead Johnson, only sell formula products.
the rules 2007
CH-1800 Vevey, Switzerland “The acquisition of Gerber is the perfect complementary fit,”
Tel: +41 21 924211 said Peter Brabeck-Lemathe, the chairman and chief executive of
Fax: +41 21 9242813 Nestlé.
Website: www.Nestlé.com
Nestle had been eyeing Gerber since 1994 but was thwarted
when another company, Sandoz acquired it for US$3.7 billion.
Products include– Sandoz merged with CIBA and became Novartis, a Swiss giant in
Complementary food: 1st Foods®, 2nd Foods®, pharmaceuticals. Gerber, however, kept its own profile, particu-
Gerber Organic, juices and cereals larly the baby face iconic brand which appears on its promotional
materials often together with the slogan: shouldn’t your baby be a
Feeding bottles and teats: Gerber bottles Gerber baby? The ‘clean’ image of the Gerber brand as portrayed
and nipples, GentleFlow, ComfortHold, by the famous baby face will now join the long list of Nestlé prod-
stretching the rules
Grins & Giggles (and Nuk, as a distributor ucts shunned under a long-running consumer boycott.
in some countries). Gerber is the only baby In 2006, Gerber generated un-audited operating profits of US$307
food company in this report which also million on sales of US$1.6 billion and spent US$13.8 million on
sells feeding bottles and teats, so violations advertising. Gerber’s new boss, Richard Laube, head of Nestlé
involving these products are included in this Nutrition praises Gerber’s targeted ads and its direct mail that seg-
section. ments babies by age: “They contact every mother several times a
Breaking
year. That gives us incredible competitive insulation.”
Before Nestlé’s acquisition of Gerber, Novartis, in 2006 had
committed to change Gerber practices so as to gain admittance
to the FTSE4Good Ethical Investment Index and face expulsion if
the changes were not made. Nestlé’s baby food marketing poli-
logos & icons– cies mean it does not qualify for FTSE4Good listing and, given its
praise for Gerber’s existing approach, is unlikely to change it.
In 2006, traces of toxic cadmium - 40 times above acceptable
levels - were found in Gerber’s jarred carrots in Israel, bringing the
safety of Gerber products into question.
Gerber’s website has a story
of the woman whose face Violations in this report refer to the period before Nestlé’s acquisi-
as a baby became an icon tion of Gerber.
for the company in 1928
and the official trademark
in 1931.
The Gerber baby face logo
is a regular feature on Gerber labels the world
over, except in Brazil and Bangladesh, where Gerber promotes
it has been removed by law. More than ‘just
another’ logo, the baby face is a powerful
feeding bottles
marketing tool. Advertising expert, Prof. Jim and bottle feeding
Twitchell agrees: “There could be better baby using dads.
foods, but if you own the concept of the
(see write-up inside)
beautiful baby, then you’re golden.”
A Gerber advertisement in
Motherhood magazine in Singapore
Violations are organised under different provisions of the Code and thereafter by alphabetical order by country.