Herbert Smorenburg – South Africa

Profile

Dutch scientist Herbert Smorenburg is part of Unilever's regional foods development team in Africa. His role is to help implement scientific research from the Unilever Food and Health Research Institute.

"I am very lucky, my job brings both intellectual challenges – such as how to use scientific messages to make healthy foods appealing – and emotional motivation from knowing that our work makes a difference to the lives of people around the world," says Herbert. "It's the combination of the two that gets me up every morning."

Early career

Herbert joined the Unilever research and development team in The Netherlands in 1996, after completing a PhD in physics. His work focused on scientific research and innovation in food products, and his ambition was to spread such innovations directly to those living in the developing world.

In 2000, he joined the team developing Unilever's Popular Foods business in Africa. After two years of regular travel between Africa and The Netherlands, along with completing an MBA and balancing a busy family life with two small children, Herbert seized the opportunity to move to Ghana - and later South Africa - to help launch new health and nutrition products in the region.

Vitality mission

"From our new Vitality mission it is very clear that Unilever can play a key role in global health and nutrition issues," says Herbert.

He adds: "A good example is tea. Changing dietary habits and lifestyles are leading to an increase in obesity. Nutritional scientists consider tea a healthy beverage and recommend drinking up to eighth cups of tea per day! However, younger generations are consuming less because they think tea is old fashioned, boring and they are unaware of its health benefits.

"We organised a Lipton partnership workshop in Nigeria and invited scientific and government representatives to share evidence about tea's benefits and discuss ways to revitalise Nigeria's tea drinking culture.

"The workshop not only helps to raise awareness about the 'goodness' of tea, it also helps to raise consumption, replacing other beverages that might contribute to obesity."

Working in partnership

It is by working with partners that Unilever can make a real difference. As another example, Herbert points to Unilever's programme to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease in South Africa.

"In partnership with the Heart & Stroke Foundation, we sponsored the world's first live broadcast of open heart surgery. It sounds sensational, but through this we were able to get the attention of more than five million South Africans and educate them about the consequences of not taking care of their hearts," he says.

"More importantly, prior the surgery we had a week's worth of daily TV coverage showing people how to 'Love their Heart'. The Heart & Stroke Foundation gave the campaign the necessary credibility, while Unilever brought in marketing skills and financial resources to help reach so many people."

Unilever Food and Health Research Institute

The Unilever Food and Health Research Institute is Unilever's global knowledge and research centre for nutrition, health and functional foods. It provides the science behind the development of new products which, in many cases, make a positive contribution to society.

"Brand teams need to be passionate about adding vitality thought our products and equipped with confidence in the science behind their development," says Herbert. "The UFHRI gives them the tools to make a difference."