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01-05-2025

Embracing Health Star Ratings as a commitment to transparency

Bobbie Crothers and Georgina Hammond, representing Coca‑Cola in New Zealand, sat down to talk with The Ministry for Primary Industries (New Zealand Food Safety) about their experiences applying the Health Star Rating to their product labels.

About the Health Star Rating system

Health Star Rating (HSR) is a voluntary front of pack labelling system, that rates the overall nutritional profile of packaged food and assigns it a rating from half a star to five stars. The label helps consumers make informed choices when comparing similar products. For businesses, adopting HSR can enhance transparency, build trust and promote healthier options. All these things ultimately improve brand reputation and customer loyalty.

Why commit to Health Star Ratings?

Coca‑Cola’s journey towards adopting the Health Star Rating (HSR) system was driven by a commitment to transparent labelling; an ethos deeply embedded in its company values. Prior to HSR, Coca‑Cola had already been using Daily Intake (DI) percentages on their labels. When HSR launched in 2014, Bobbie Crothers, Senior Manager for Scientific and Regulatory Affairs – New Zealand and Pacific Islands said it was a “no brainer” to integrate the system on their labels. Coca‑Cola “wanted to lead the way, showing manufacturers it can be done, and having consumers at the front of our mind.”

Implementation process

As businesses will know, changing one label is a lengthy process, let alone changing up to 300 packs in Coca‑Cola New Zealand's portfolio. The key for Coca‑Cola to achieve change on this scale involved taking senior leadership and operational experts on a journey to understand the importance and meaning of the HSR system. Internally, key staff were educated on the importance and impact of HSR, ensuring alignment across marketing, sales, and senior leadership teams. Despite the costs and logistical challenges, Coca‑Cola prioritised implementing HSR for consumer-centric reasons.

“The Health Star Rating supports our innovation and reformulation efforts in low and no sugar beverages by helping consumers to identify lower sugar alternatives. We think it’s important that people have trust in what they are drinking and providing more information to people to help make informed choices for themselves and their families.”

Georgina Hammond, Coca‑Cola in New Zealand

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