We hear the advice all the time: eat healthier, read nutrition labels, cut back on sodium, add more vegetables, and make better food choices.
It sounds simple enough until you are the one deciding what to put on the table with a limited budget, little time to prepare a meal, and only the products available at the neighborhood grocery or sari-sari store to choose from.
For many Filipino families, eating better isn’t simply a matter of knowing what is healthy. Affordability, accessibility, convenience, and understanding nutrition all influence what eventually makes it onto the plate.
That reality was at the center of The Better Food Conversation: Nourishment on Every Filipino Plate, where Monde Nissin brought together nutrition professionals, community advocates, government representatives, academics, and industry stakeholders to talk about how healthier food choices can become more realistic for Filipino families.
The gathering also marked the official launch of Better Food Forward (BFF), Monde Nissin’s long-term nutrition advocacy built around product innovation, practical nutrition education, and partnerships.
Rather than framing nutrition purely around what consumers should or shouldn’t eat, the initiative starts with a more practical question: How do we make better food easier for people to choose in the first place?
Healthy choices have to work in real life
One of the more relatable ideas raised during the discussion came from registered nutritionist-dietitian and content creator Jo Sebastian, who argued that nutrition conversations don’t always have to revolve around taking food away.
“We need to focus on making additions rather than restrictions. Something as simple as adding cabbage and an egg to instant noodles can make a difference. These small additions matter because they can help us get the nutrition we need without making healthy eating feel impossible,” Sebastian said.
It is a refreshingly practical way to discuss food.
Healthy eating advice can sometimes feel intimidating because it seems to demand a complete overhaul of the way people shop, cook, and eat. But improving a meal doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning familiar or affordable food. Sometimes it can begin by figuring out what can realistically be added to it.
Kevin Carpio, Nutrition Advocacy Manager of Monde Nissin, similarly pointed out that knowledge is only one part of the equation.
“Better nutrition is not only about knowing what to eat. It is also about whether families can afford the food, find it where they usually shop, and understand how it can fit into their everyday meals,” Carpio said.
That distinction matters. Telling someone to choose healthier food accomplishes very little when that choice costs considerably more, isn’t sold nearby, takes longer to prepare, or requires nutritional knowledge the consumer has never been given.
Dr. Clarissa Juanico, President of the Philippine Stakeholders for Nutrition and Dietetics, stressed the need for different sectors to work together.
“When every sector works together, we can create environments where healthier choices are not only available but also accessible and achievable for everyone,” she said.
The panel also included Cloyd Masaudling, Executive Director of Aguhon Movement for Governance, and Atty. Olive Misa, Head of Corporate and Government Affairs at Monde Nissin.
Representatives from organizations including the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agriculture, DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Philippine Association of Nutrition, Philippine Stakeholders for Nutrition and Dietetics, Nutritionist Dietitians’ Association of the Philippines Foundation, Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network, and University of the Philippines Los Baños also attended the event.
What exactly is Better Food Forward?
Better Food Forward is organized around three interconnected areas: Products, Programs, and Partnerships.
Products covers Monde Nissin’s efforts to improve the nutritional profile of its food portfolio through reformulation, fortification, and new food technologies.
Programs focuses on nutrition education that consumers can realistically apply to everyday eating.
Partnerships recognizes something the company repeatedly emphasized during the launch: improving nutrition on a national scale cannot be accomplished by a food manufacturer—or any single organization—working alone.
There are already measurable changes happening within Monde Nissin’s portfolio.
