Food companies play an ambivalent part in the fight against flab
Fast-food chains, too, have spread far into developing markets. McDonald’s is
now in 119 countries (see box at the end of this section). Yum! Brands, owner of
KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, derives 60% of its profit from the developing
world, and there is plenty of growth potential left. Yum!’s chief executive,
David Novak, explains that the company has 58 restaurants for every 1m
Americans, compared with just two restaurants for every 1m people in emerging
markets.
But even as they are expanding, food companies are keen to show that they take
the obesity problem seriously. The International Food and Beverage Alliance
(IFBA), a trade group of ten giants including Coca-Cola, Mondelez and Nestlé,
has given global promises to make healthier products, advertise food responsibly
and promote exercise.
