PepsiCo’s Nutrition Chief Has a 40-Year Plan

Sue Gatenby has spent four decades reshaping what people eat. The PepsiCo reformulation strategy she now leads didn’t start in a corporate boardroom; it started with public health policy. That trajectory matters.

TLDR

• Gatenby helped develop the precursor to the UK’s Eatwell Guide.
• PepsiCo’s reformulation strategy targets positive nutrition, not just reduction.
• Misinformation is now a named obstacle in Big Food’s nutrition work.
• Four decades of policy experience now drives product-level change at scale.
• Industry operators face pressure to move beyond compliance toward leadership.

Sue Gatenby’s career arc is unusual for a Big Food executive. She contributed to the framework that preceded the UK’s Eatwell Guide before moving into industry. That public-health grounding now informs how PepsiCo approaches product reformulation.

PepsiCo Reformulation Strategy: Beyond Salt and Sugar Cuts

Gatenby frames the PepsiCo reformulation strategy as additive, not just subtractive. Reducing sodium or saturated fat is table stakes. The harder work involves building in fiber, protein, and micronutrients consumers actually need. That shift from “less bad” to “more good” is a meaningful distinction for suppliers and formulators.

Specifically, she points to positive nutrition targets as the organizing principle. Products must deliver something, not merely avoid something. That framing has direct implications for ingredient sourcing, R&D investment, and how operators position SKUs to retail buyers.

Additionally, Gatenby flags misinformation as a structural challenge. Conflicting nutrition claims erode consumer trust and slow reformulation uptake. For manufacturers, that means cleaner labeling and more transparent communication aren’t optional; they’re competitive.

What Four Decades in Nutrition Actually Teaches

Gatenby’s longevity on this beat gives her comments weight. She has watched nutrition science evolve, seen policy frameworks rise and fall, and observed how consumer behavior responds to both. Her read: durable change requires aligning product development with genuine health outcomes, not just regulatory thresholds.

For food-industry operators, her position signals where the category is heading. Companies waiting for mandates before reformulating are already behind. Clean-label leaders have demonstrated that proactive reformulation builds brand equity; laggards absorb the reputational cost later.

In short, the PepsiCo reformulation strategy is a case study in what scaled ambition looks like when it’s backed by institutional knowledge. The question for the rest of the industry is whether they’ll follow the framework or wait to be pulled.

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Source: FoodNavigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2026/07/10/pepsicos-sue-gatenby-on-reformulation-consumer-health-and-nutritions-next-chapter/