讓垃圾食品不再“垃圾”
????瑪氏公司(Mars)是著名的M&Ms、星河巧克力和士力架等產品的制造商。但是這家公司的發言人拒絕對此發表評論。 ????奇異產品的構想來自于萬圣節之后的父子爭辯。三年前,布隆納的兒子12歲大。父母拿走了他的大多數糖果“戰利品”。尼基對父母表示抗議,但父母告訴他,糖果吃多了對他的健康不利。尼基不服氣,轉而向網絡尋求幫助,最終卻發現父母的說法是對的。因此,尼基在接下來的兩年里著手探索能否拋棄垃圾食品原材料生產出美味的糖果。 ????尼基運用他父親在商業界的人脈關系和經濟來源,聯系了食品和營養學方面的專家,一位著名的廚師,以及Khosla等風投公司。慢慢地,布隆納家庭創立并發展起來一家公司,并匯集了來自寶潔(Procter & Gamble)、家樂氏(Kellogg)、谷歌(Google)和高迪瓦(Godiva)等公司的經驗豐富的人員。首批產品于今年夏天投放市場。奇異品牌公司希望能夠將市場拓展至甜品飲料和其他產品領域。 ????Khosla公司合伙人薩米爾?庫爾稱,奇異品牌對Khosla的投資來說非常重要。Khosla進行的可持續性投資越來越多,對食品和農業領域給予了越來越大的關注度。他說:“我們準備從糖果開始,并給人們拋出一個價值主張。我們必須通過有意義的方式來影響變革。” ????奇異公司能否完成自己使命?且讓我們拭目以待。耶魯大學(Yale University)呂德食品政策與肥胖中心(Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity)主任凱利?布朗內爾對烏坦的一些擔憂表示贊同。他說,奇異品牌的最終影響在很大程度上依賴于消費者對其產品作何響應。布朗內爾博士稱:“假設產品只比垃圾食品好10%,但如果消費者認為這些產品要比垃圾食品好40%,那就會造成不好的結果。消費者食用同等的量才是明智的。” ????我桌上就擺著一堆“奇異”糖果。我正努力關注其傳達的節制飲食的信息。一位同事停下來拿起一個糖果棒,我費勁口舌地向他解釋奇異品牌的價值觀。然而還沒等我說完,他就走出房間,在走廊里對我喊了一句:“我可不是為了健康才去吃這些東西。我就是想吃點巧克力而已。” ????譯者:李柰/汪皓 |
????A spokesman for Mars, the maker of M&Ms, Milky Ways and Snickers, declined to comment. ????Unreal emerged out of a father and son dispute following, appropriately, Halloween. Three years ago, when Bronner's son Nicky was 12, his parents took away most of his trick-or-treating spoils. When Nicky protested, his parents told him candy was bad for him. Unconvinced, Nicky turned to the Web, only to find out that his parents were right after all. So Nicky embarked on a two-year quest to find out whether tasty candy could be made without junk. ????Using his father's business world connections and pocketbook, Nicky contacted food and nutrition experts, a renowned chef, and investors like Khosla. Little by little, the Bronners built a company with veterans from Procter & Gamble (PG), Kellogg (K), Google (GOOG) and Godiva. The products were first introduced this summer. Over time, Unreal hopes to expand into sweetened beverages and other products. ????Samir Kaul, a partner at Khosla, says Unreal made sense for his firm, which has been making a growing number of investments in sustainability, with an increased focus in the food and agriculture sectors. "We are going to start with candy and give people a value proposition," he says. "We have to affect change when we can in meaningful ways." ????Whether Unreal can fulfill its mission remains to be seen. Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, echoes several of Wootan's concerns. He says Unreal's ultimate impact largely depends on how consumers respond to its products. "Lets say the products are better by 10%, but if consumers think they are 40% better, then it's not going to be good," Dr. Brownell says. "If consumers respond by eating the same amount, they will be better off." ????As a pile of Unreal's treats sits on my desk, I'm trying to heed the implicit message of moderation. When a colleague stops and grabs a candy bar, I do my best to explain Unreal's mission. Before I finish, however, he walks out the door, and from the hallway, he blurts out: "I'm not eating it to be healthy. I just want some chocolate." |