The Danish Whole Grain Partnership strengthens health and business

Public-private partnerships can play a vital part in changing the way people eat. The Danish Whole Grain Partnership is a perfect example of just that, creating the foundation for a whole new line of developed products with an increased amount of whole grains.

In an effort to be on the forefront of dietary developments and ensure that Danes ate the recommended 90 grams of whole grain a day, partners from government, health NGOs and businesses created the Whole Grain Partnership in 2008.

A year later this was followed by the creation of the Whole Grain Logo, a logo that products meeting the requirements could attain and thereby help consumers choose the healthiest products when grocery shopping.

A massive success

Today, Danes on average consume 82 grams of whole grains daily. The recommended amount in the official Danish dietary guidelines is 90 grams a day. 68% of Danes recognise the logo and of those 80% say that they shop according to it. And while there existed 190 whole grain products in 2010 that number has exploded to around 1100 products today. Not only do Danes eat more whole grain today than ever before, but the market for whole grain has increased tenfold.

This has only been possible due to the large support from the industry to increase their whole grain product range and develop healthier products and meals with more whole grains in, along with a concerted communications effort from authorities and NGOs.

Danes on average consume 82 grams of whole grains daily. The recommended amount in the official Danish dietary guidelines is 90 grams a day.

The results of the long-term work led to that The Danish Whole Grain Partnership in 2019 received international recognition, when the EU Commission honoured a number of “best practice” initiatives that have contributed in particular to promoting public health. But the partnership not only contributes to better public health. For food producers, it has created a new opportunity to expand their product range within whole grain products.

In other words, the partners have successfully combined health and business objectives. An inspiration for other organisations to pursue the partnership option.