![]() “We were very concerned, and rightfully so, that obesity was becoming a major issue,” Behnke recalled. He was anxious but also hopeful about the plan that he and a few other food-company executives had devised to engage the C.E.O.’s on America’s growing weight problem. ![]() James Behnke, a 55-year-old executive at Pillsbury, greeted the men as they arrived. Their stature was defined by their skill in fighting one another for what they called “stomach share” - the amount of digestive space that any one company’s brand can grab from the competition. While the atmosphere was cordial, the men assembled were hardly friends. On the agenda was one item: the emerging obesity epidemic and how to deal with it. ![]() ![]() Rivals any other day, the C.E.O.’s and company presidents had come together for a rare, private meeting. Nestlé was in attendance, as were Kraft and Nabisco, General Mills and Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Mars. On the evening of April 8, 1999, a long line of Town Cars and taxis pulled up to the Minneapolis headquarters of Pillsbury and discharged 11 men who controlled America’s largest food companies. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |