We underestimate the power of a transaction to shape our store shelves and menu cards.
Except the foodpharmers alarmist take on everything.
Companies really will sell you anything. So long as it is legal in the bare minimum sense of the word.
If you demand it.
Demand really shapes supply.
Look at the number of companies selling the same whey under different brand names.
Salad companies come and go. But they try.
Take some control over your shopping cart and virtual baskets.
The store shelves and menu cards will make it easier to do better by your waist line and body composition.
Rajan Singh:
In 2006, at a conference I was attending at Wharton, someone asked the Domino's CEO -- "Are you doing something about how your company is contributing to the obesity epidemic in the US?"
He replied, "As a business, we give our customers what they want. In fact, we did once create a healthy pizza, with a whole-wheat base and no cheese. Eat that pizza for a month and you will lose weight like nobody's business.
"But do you know how many of those we sold in the US in the entire year? 5000"
Just for context, Domino's sells about 300 million pizzas a year in the US.
He further said, "About 50% of our customers ask for extra cheese! Who are we to tell our customers what to eat? Our job is to just serve them."
Today, in this frenzy of Q commerce and 10-minute food delivery, unhealthy food options are booming. But should companies try to promote healthy options or is it a personal choice?
We can't tell people what to eat and drink -- it is up to each individual.
But it is also true that advertising, social conversations, and influencers hugely shape consumer desire. And when a Campa Cola bottle costs Rs 10, but healthy food costs a lot more, it does affect what people buy.
Companies will sell what makes them money. And that's fine.
But as individuals, we have the power to shape the social conversations and promote healthy actions. We can fight harmful advertising and misinformation. We are not helpless.
Whether it is unhealthy food, social attitudes, violence and inequality, or justice -- we have a responsibility.
We have the most powerful weapon in this world -- our voice. We have to use it to promote the right things.
Don't wait for the government to solve our problems -- we are the government.
Except the foodpharmers alarmist take on everything.
Companies really will sell you anything. So long as it is legal in the bare minimum sense of the word.
If you demand it.
Demand really shapes supply.
Look at the number of companies selling the same whey under different brand names.
Salad companies come and go. But they try.
Take some control over your shopping cart and virtual baskets.
The store shelves and menu cards will make it easier to do better by your waist line and body composition.
Rajan Singh:
In 2006, at a conference I was attending at Wharton, someone asked the Domino's CEO -- "Are you doing something about how your company is contributing to the obesity epidemic in the US?"
He replied, "As a business, we give our customers what they want. In fact, we did once create a healthy pizza, with a whole-wheat base and no cheese. Eat that pizza for a month and you will lose weight like nobody's business.
"But do you know how many of those we sold in the US in the entire year? 5000"
Just for context, Domino's sells about 300 million pizzas a year in the US.
He further said, "About 50% of our customers ask for extra cheese! Who are we to tell our customers what to eat? Our job is to just serve them."
Today, in this frenzy of Q commerce and 10-minute food delivery, unhealthy food options are booming. But should companies try to promote healthy options or is it a personal choice?
We can't tell people what to eat and drink -- it is up to each individual.
But it is also true that advertising, social conversations, and influencers hugely shape consumer desire. And when a Campa Cola bottle costs Rs 10, but healthy food costs a lot more, it does affect what people buy.
Companies will sell what makes them money. And that's fine.
But as individuals, we have the power to shape the social conversations and promote healthy actions. We can fight harmful advertising and misinformation. We are not helpless.
Whether it is unhealthy food, social attitudes, violence and inequality, or justice -- we have a responsibility.
We have the most powerful weapon in this world -- our voice. We have to use it to promote the right things.
Don't wait for the government to solve our problems -- we are the government.