Whitehouse Communications ran the Secretariat of Total Diet & Meal Replacements Europe (TDMR Europe), the trade body for manufacturers and distributors of formula diet products campaigning for appropriate policy and legislation for slimming foods and making the case for these products as an effective means to tackle the obesity epidemic. The firm supported TDMR Europe with regulatory, media and public relations activity from the Group’s launch in 2002.
Over the course of the relationship, this work included shaping the adoption of pieces of legislation of relevance to the sector, leading and implementing an extensive rebrand of the trade body, running seminars, webinars and events with policymakers, academics, nutrition and health organisations, the European Commission, EFSA and journalists, and informing the review of the regulatory framework for total diet replacements (TDRs) and meal replacements (MRPs) products for weight control.
The challenge
Total Diet & Meal Replacements Europe (TDMR Europe) is a trade body for manufacturers and distributors of formula diet products, set up to campaign for appropriate policy and legislation for slimming foods and to make the case for these products as an effective means to tackle the obesity epidemic.
The Group was launched in 2002 and appointed Whitehouse Communications to run its Secretariat and deliver its regulatory, media and public relations activity from the outset. The brief covered ensuring a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for slimming foods at EU level, contributing to the wider public health debate on obesity, promoting formula foods as an option to tackle obesity and related diseases, and, as the trade body matured, leading an extensive rebrand of the organisation to better reflect its ethos.
Our approach
Whitehouse Communications combined the day-to-day work of a trade body Secretariat with sustained EU regulatory engagement, media relations and a full brand programme, all in service of TDMR Europe’s positioning on slimming foods and obesity policy.
The work focused on:
- Running the TDMR Europe Secretariat from the Group’s launch in 2002, providing the operational continuity that enabled a decades-long trade body voice on slimming foods and obesity policy.
- Working with EU policymakers and regulators to ensure the adoption of a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for slimming foods, and to inform the review of the regulatory framework for total diet replacements (TDRs) and meal replacements (MRPs) products for weight control.
- Contributing to the wider public health debate on obesity and promoting formula foods as an option to tackle obesity and related diseases.
- Running a sustained programme of seminars, webinars and events bringing together policymakers, academics, nutrition and health organisations, the European Commission, EFSA and journalists.
- Leading and implementing an extensive rebrand of the trade body to better reflect the ethos of the organisation.
The outcome
Through effective engagement with policymakers and regulators, Whitehouse Communications helped TDMR Europe inform the review of the regulatory framework for total diet replacements (TDRs) and meal replacements (MRPs) products for weight control. Specific outcomes included promoting appropriate classification of TDRs, and ensuring that MRPs are now regulated under EU general food law.
For TDMR Europe, the sustained Secretariat and regulatory engagement translated a long-standing trade body relationship into concrete regulatory outcomes for the slimming foods sector at EU level, alongside a successful rebrand and an established platform in the wider public health conversation on obesity.
