Workforce nutrition has emerged as one of the innovative interventions supporting food systems transformation and accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As adults spend a significant proportion of their day at work, the workplace provides a powerful platform for influencing nutrition, health, and food choices. Evidence shows that investing in workforce nutrition programmes improves employee health and wellbeing, increases morale, boosts productivity and performance, and reduces absenteeism, creating value for both workers and businesses.
Despite this potential, employers remain one of the most overlooked actors in food systems transformation. Across industries, however, a growing number of companies are recognising that supporting workers’ nutritional wellbeing not only benefits employees and their families but also strengthens business performance, workforce engagement, and corporate reputation. This case study showcases one such example – Grupo Bimbo, a leading global food company headquartered in Mexico, operating in 39 countries with more than 152,000 employees. It explores how the company has embedded workforce nutrition into its business strategy, the results achieved, and the challenges encountered along the way.
Grupo Bimbo’s approach aligns closely with the Workforce Nutrition Alliance (WNA) four-pillar framework, providing access to healthy food at work through affordable healthy canteens, nutrition education, nutrition-related health screening and counselling, and breastfeeding support (which the company recognises as a human right).
What distinguishes the programme is its commitment to designing interventions that are evidence-based, flexible, locally adapted, co-created with workers, and embedded within the company’s culture and leadership.
The case study demonstrates that corporate leadership in workforce nutrition goes beyond improving employee wellbeing. When workforce nutrition is integrated into company policies, leadership commitment, and everyday business practices, it becomes a powerful driver of healthier workplaces, stronger businesses, and more sustainable food systems.
Read the full case study to explore the lessons, enablers, and practical insights that can help employers implement successful workforce nutrition programmes.