Morinaga
Headquarters
JapanType of ownership
PublicEstimated percentage of Morinaga's global F&B sales from BMS
18%Estimated percentage of Morinaga's global baby food sales from BMS
95%Countries covered in country studies
Indonesia/Viet Nam© All rights reserved
Score 2024
Score
Score
Important:
The research findings regarding companies’ performance in this Index are based on information shared by companies or gathered by service providers, in addition to information that is available in the public domain.
The level of detail and comprehensiveness of information shared by companies and gathered through external service providers varied. In the case of limited or no engagement by companies, this Index may not represent the full extent of their efforts. Similarly, in the case of limited data collected by service providers, the findings of this Index may not provide a comprehensive representation of company practices.
ATNI’s research and Indexes do not assess compliance with local regulations or laws, but rather assess private sector performance against international standards and guidance.
BMS Country Studies
Score
The Country Studies component of the BMS and CF Marketing Indexes 2024 evaluates the extent to which a company’s marketing practices align with specific provisions of the WHO Code (not against local Code-related regulations). The main marketing channels assessed in the Country Studies for the BMS and CF Marketing Indexes 2024 are online points-of-sale, traditional and online media outlets, and product labels, which were all assessed according to the NetCode protocol. Morinaga Milk sells BMS products in two (Indonesia and Viet Nam) of the five countries selected for the assessment, which represents over 70% of Morinaga Milk’s estimated global BMS sales. The Country Studies results for Morinaga Milk are summarized below for Indonesia and Viet Nam across each marketing channel.
Country Studies overview
| Morinaga | Country assessments | BMS market | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total incidences of non-compliance across online, traditional media, and product labels | Number of product labels assessed | Company brands found | BMS market share | Proportion of Morinaga's global BMS sales | |
| CHINA | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| GERMANY | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| INDONESIA | 118 | 9 | Chil Go, Chil Kid, Chil Mil | 18% | 72% |
| US | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| VIET NAM | 2 | 2 | Chil Mil, Hagukumi | <5% | No information |
(0 incidences of Code non-compliance corresponding to a country score of 100%)
(>0-10 incidences of Code non-compliance corresponding to a country score of 66%)
(>10-20 incidences of Code non-compliance corresponding to a country score of 33%)
(> 20 incidences of Code non-compliance corresponding to a country score of 0%)
• A total of 120 incidences of non-compliant marketing practices were found for Morinaga Milk. Non-compliant marketing practices were found across online and traditional media channels assessed in two countries. A total of 11 product labels were assessed of various Morinaga Milk brands.
• The highest number of incidences of non-compliance were found (118) in Indonesia, where Morinaga Milk has a relatively high share of the Indonesian BMS market (~18%) and which represents over 70% of the company’s total global BMS sales. Of these observations, a total of 100 advertisements and promotions related to BMS brands were found online during the research period, and 9 advertisements were found on traditional media channels in Indonesia. All nine product labels assessed contained one or more instances of non-compliance.
• A significantly lower number of incidences of non-compliance (2) were found for Morinaga Milk in Viet Nam, which is not a major market for the company nor is it a major player: the two product labels assessed both contained one of more instances of non-compliance. No advertisements and promotions related to BMS brands were found online or on traditional media during the research period.
Observed incidences of non-compliance with the Code per country
Main in-country findings
Morinaga Milk’s highest number of incidences of non-compliance were found in Indonesia (118), and only two observations were made in Viet Nam.
Across the two country assessments, the majority of incidences of non-compliant marketing practices (100 out of 118) for Morinaga Milk were identified through the social listening of online platforms in Indonesia, followed by the incidences of non-compliance attributed to inappropriate product labels (11). All the rest of the incidences of non-compliance were found on traditional media only in Indonesia (9). The incidences of non-compliance found online were largely concerning growing-up milks whereas advertisements on traditional media concerned brand promotions, and non-compliant labels were found across all types of BMS.
Online findings
• All of the online advertisements and promotions related to Morinaga Milk’s BMS brands were found in Indonesia (100 in total).
• Among the total incidences of non-compliance found online, nine observations were related to point-of-sale promotions found on online retailer platforms in Indonesia, mainly in the form of discounts for growing up milks. However, one point-of-sale product promotions concerned infant formula. This product should not be advertised as per Article 5 of the Code. Despite ATNI's request for Morinaga Milk to verify any contractual relationship with the retailers monitored, confirmation could not be obtained from the company. No online advertisement was found of Morinaga Milk BMS products in Viet Nam in the eight-week period the channels were monitored.
• The remaining 91 online media observations were found on the company’s in-country websites and social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) in Indonesia. An average of two incidences of non-compliance were identified with each observation in online media. Apart from advertising BMS – a non-compliance with the Code in itself – other common incidences found with those advertisements included incentivizing the purchase of those products through offering vouchers and gifts, as well as providing education and information about infant and young child nutrition and feeding. Other, but less common observations include soliciting caregivers in Indonesia to sign-up to memberships and reward club points with the prize of a BMS Morinaga Milk product. The majority of advertisements also included claims, with around 80% of the identified advertisements in Indonesia containing at least one type of claim. Nutritional claims were the most common incidence of non-compliance found.
• In total, three product promotions for Moringa Milk infant formula were found on a parenting website. ATNI did not receive any confirmation from Moringa Milk if they had any contractual relationship with this parenting site.
Traditional media findings
• In total, nine BMS advertisements by Morinaga Milk were identified on traditional media in Indonesia, seven were found on television, and two other advertisements were found in printed media. All 9 advertisements concerned BMS products where the targeted age was not clearly indicated, and all had at least one type of claim. No traditional media observations were made of Morinaga Milk BMS products in Viet Nam in the six months the channels were monitored.
BMS product label
• A total of 11 of Moringa Milk’s BMS product labels were assessed for the two markets, 9 of which were in Indonesia. For all Morinaga Milk product labels assessed, at least one incident of Code non-compliance was observed. The average number of incidences of non-compliance per product label per market were four in Indonesia and five in Viet Nam.
• Over 50% of all labels were missing a statement on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months and continued breastfeeding for up to two years or beyond. All the labels assessed contained at least one claim (health, nutritional and/ or marketing). Other common observations classified as non-compliant with the Code included not clear statement on the need to only use the product on the advice of a health professional before deciding to feed with formula, irrespective of the age at which formula is introduced or containing text or images that may discourage or undermine breastfeeding.
• It is worth noting that ATNI did not have the resources to collect products from the different markets and take pictures of their labels. In this iteration, ATNI’s research was based on product label images from an external provider. For some products, images were not clear enough or did not show all parts of the package, thus ATNI asked the respective companies to provide images of the labels. Morinaga Milk did not respond to ATNI during the verification phase, and no images of product labels were provided, as requested by ATNI. Therefore, one incomplete assessment remained for one product in Indonesia. Since at least one incidence of non-compliance
Recommendations
• Given the number of incidences of non-compliant marketing practices observed across the two markets assessed, Morinaga Milk is strongly encouraged to strengthen its responsible BMS marketing policies and ensure their full alignment with the recommendations of the Code and all subsequent relevant resolutions, including the guidance supported by WHA resolution 69.9. ATNI has developed a model company policy on the responsible marketing of BMS which can guide the company on how to incorporate Code provisions and align with the latest public health requirements in practice.
• Although relatively few advertisements of Morinaga Milk’s BMS products were found on traditional media platforms, a substantial number of advertisements were observed on online platforms (100), mainly for growing-up milks and BMS brand advertisements. Morinaga Milk is urged to restrict the advertising and promotion of all types of BMS products and brands on all forms of media platforms globally. The company should also refrain from incentivizing the purchase of those products by offering vouchers and gifts or soliciting contact with caregivers and providing education and information on infant and young child feeding across all platforms.
• Morinaga Milk is strongly encouraged to take responsibility for monitoring its marketing practices beyond local regulations, according to the principles and the aim of the Code and subsequent relevant resolutions, and to take steps to ensure this includes online media channels.
• Morinaga Milk is encouraged to engage with its industry associations, retailers and/or regulators to ensure that there are no promotions of BMS products in the retail environment, and see that products are appropriately marketed in line with the Code.
• Given that each of the labels assessed across both countries were found to be non-compliant with the Code requirements in at least one aspect, Morinaga Milk is encouraged to focus on improving labeling practices across all markets to ensure full compliance with the Code and all subsequent relevant resolutions, including the guidance supported by WHA resolution 69.9. This includes ensuring that product labels clearly indicate the appropriate age range for consumption, instructions for powder formula preparation, and statements promoting the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding up to two years or beyond, and that labels do not include health or nutrition claims, except if specifically provided for in national legislation.
• Clear evidence was found of Morinaga Milk applying point-of-sale promotions for growing-up milks and promoting these on online platforms, which is contrary to the requirements of the Code, specifically the guidance supported by WHA resolution 69.9 that extended the scope of the Code to growing-up milks. Therefore, ATNI urges Morinaga Milk to ensure its commitments are extended to include growing-up milks in all markets.
• Morinaga Milk is strongly encouraged to cooperate fully with any future independent third-party assessments by providing clear and comprehensive product label images. Incomplete assessments can lead to inaccurate evaluations and hinder efforts to address incidences of non-compliance effectively.
• ATNI is calling on Morinaga Milk to review all incidences of non-compliance identified across all marketing channels, which were shared in detail with the company, and to take corrective action in each of the markets.
BMS Corporate Profile
Score
The Corporate Profile component of the BMS and CF Marketing Indexes 2024 evaluates the extent to which a company’s policies align with various provisions of the Code, the effectiveness of its related management systems as well as the company’s level of disclosure on commitments relating to BMS marketing. Morinaga Milk’s BMS marketing commitments were assessed across 11 topics that cover different aspects of the Code on which the company scored an average of 5%. This score is equivalent to the company’s initial overall Corporate Profile score before a geographic penalty (if applicable) is applied to each BMS product type. The final Corporate Profile score considers how the company’s BMS marketing commitments are applied for the different BMS product types sold by the company, and across different markets. As Morinaga Milk sells infant formula, follow-up formula, and growing-up milks, the company’s application of BMS commitments was evaluated for each product type, as shown in the next section on ‘Geographic application of BMS commitments by product type’. The scores and findings on each topic are described in further detail in the section below on ‘BMS Commitments by Topic’.
Geographic application by Morinaga of BMS commitments by product type
The table below shows the percentage of product sales where commitments are upheld and the geographic penalty applied to each type of BMS. The penalty ranges from 0% up to 90% depending on whether a company fully upholds its BMS marketing commitments in all or none of the countries in which it operates, respectively, where national Code regulations are absent or less stringent than the company’s policies and standards.
|
Corporate Profile score before penalty |
Product type |
Percentage of Morinaga’s global sales from markets where BMS commitments are upheld |
Geographic penalty applied |
Final Corporate Profile score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1% |
Infant formula |
32% | 61.2% | 2.3% |
|
Follow-up formula |
70% | 27% | ||
|
Growing-up milk |
0% | 90% |
The table below shows the percentage of product sales where commitments are upheld and the geographic penalty applied to each type of BMS. The penalty ranges from 0% up to 90% depending on whether a company fully upholds its BMS marketing commitments in all or none of the countries in which it operates, respectively, where national Code regulations are absent or less stringent than the company’s policies and standards.
ATNI referred to Morinaga Milk’s Breast-Milk Substitutes Marketing Policy (2021) to assess how the company’s BMS marketing commitments are upheld for each product type and in which markets. Euromonitor retail sales estimates were used to calculate the proportion of Morinaga Milk’s global product sales covered per BMS product type.
Infant formula
The company only upholds its commitments for this product type in higher-risk countries, even when national regulations implementing the Code are absent or weaker than the company policy.
Based on the information found in the public domain, and the evidence shared by the company, it was not clear if the policy is also upheld for infant formulas for special medical purposes.
Consequently, the company commitments are upheld only for products representing 32% of its global infant formula sales, resulting in the application of a geographic penalty of 61% for this product type.
Follow-up formula
The company only upholds its commitments for this product type in higher-risk countries, even when national regulations implementing the Code are absent or weaker than the company policy.
Based on the information found in the public domain, and the evidence shared by the company, it was not clear if the policy is also upheld for follow-up formulas for special medical purposes.
Consequently, the company commitments are upheld only for products representing 70% of its global follow-up formula sales, resulting in the application of a geographic penalty of 27% for this product type.
Growing-up milk
The company does not apply its BMS marketing commitments to growing-up milks. This is evident from the country assessments where the majority of the observed incidences of non-compliance were attributed to growing-up milk products.
The corresponding geographic penalty for this product type is the maximum of 90%.
ATNI calls on Morinaga Milk to consider the expanded definition of the Code, following the World Health Assembly resolution 69.9 recommendations, to cover any milk products up to three years of age.
Based on the company’s application of its BMS commitments to the different BMS product categories across its global markets, the final Corporate Profile score is 2%.
Topics Overview
BMS commitments by topic
Most topics include assessments on both policy commitments and management systems, except for the topic on ‘Implementation and Monitoring’, which mostly considers management systems, and the topic ‘Overarching Commitments’, which considers policy commitments only. A separate topic assesses the level of disclosure and transparency practiced by companies on the different aspects of the Code.