bruce funnell, head of packaging, nestlé ptc contemplates the year aheadsince 1867, with the advent of &lsquofarine lactee&rsquo, nutrition has been at the heart of nestlé. our motto &lsquogood food, good life&rsquo is equally relevant today as we drive to achieve our ambition of being recognised as the leading nutrition, health and wellness company.times have changed since 1867. today we are living in a period of unparalleled change a sevenplus billion population a rising middle class in major emerging economies and sustainably meeting the needs of tomorrow are all rightly on the agenda.malnutrition is a major global challenge since about half the world&rsquos population has nutritional issues. more than two billion suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, 800 million are undernourished and over two billion are overweight or obese, leading to diabetes, cardio vascular and other diseases.tobacco use, physical inactivity and poor diet are reported by the world health organisation to account for more than half of all deaths. since these are all behaviour based, they are in principle preventable, but with as many as 67 of men and 57 of women being either overweight or obese in the uk and more than a quarter of children also overweight or obese &ndash 26 of boys and 29 of girls, according to a report published in the respected medical journal the lancet in july 2014, immediate action is needed.packaging has a key role to play and is one of the enablers for change and nutrition and wellness will be a key focus both in our company and, no doubt across the industry in 2015. in 2013, more than 99 of nestlé&rsquos product sales in europe had front of pack &lsquoguideline daily allowance&rsquo gda labelling. moreover, nestlé has pledged by 2015 to offer specific portion guidance onpack, on every single eligible children and family product in our portfolio.an example of portion guidance can be seen on the 120g &lsquoaero&rsquo chocolate product, visually guiding consumers on both front and back of pack, helping them decide what is the right portion for them one row, or four pieces, equals one serving. it&rsquos a great example of product and pack working together.product format is another way to deliver portion control. twofinger kitkat delivers one portion at only 107 calories, whereas fourfinger encourages sharing, as do reclosable pouch formats on several brands through the onpack call to action &lsquolove to share&rsquo.effective portion guidance on pack has to resonate with the consumer, in a language that puts the product in context for them. one way is to use entertaining ways of expressing calorie values, such as through &lsquoactivity icons&rsquo for instance, by communicating that one portion is equivalent to a 25minute run.good portion control needs to be functional as well as visual, engaging the consumer to measure delivery and thus slow down consumption, rather than dispensing everything at once. by providing the rightsized portion, we help guide consumers to control their consumption, but also reduce food wastage by providing just what is needed, with no excess.i&rsquoll leave you with three guiding principles for effective portion control packaging. first, communicate a responsible message in a way that consumers can relate to. second, design to be intuitive and engaging, decreasing waste without adding complexity. finally, see packaging as part of a system in other words, product and packaging must be designed together to deliver effective portion control. 
