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Food and beverage companies with a higher percentage of their sales coming from better-for-you foods and beverages perform better financially, according to a new report produced by the Hudson Institute with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The report analyzed the sales of 15 major food and beverage companies and found that sales of better-for-you (BFY) products drove more than 70 percent of sales growth from 2007 to 2011. BFY products were defined as no-, low- and reduced-calorie items, such as flavored waters or diet sodas, as well as products that generally are perceived to be healthier, such as yogurts and whole-grain cereals.

Researchers also found that, compared with companies with lower-than-average sales of BFY items, those that sold a higher percentage of such items:

• showed a 50 percent growth in operating profit, as compared with just over 20 percent growth for the other companies;
• outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 60 points on average, compared with roughly 40 points for the other companies;

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