Employers Unite to Improve Workplace Snacking Environments

Recognizing how many people struggle with managing their weight–and spend so many of their waking hours at the office–Dannon has teamed up with major companies across America to launch Snack Healthy, Work Smart™. This three-month challenge is designed to help professional women take control of their snacking at work.

Most working people spend more than one third of their day at work, and those trying to manage their weight can be hindered by the less-than-nutritious snacks surrounding them in the workplace. A Simmons National Consumer Survey found that working women are especially vulnerable to the "call of the snack." Seven out of 10 reported that they snack between meals, and six out of 10 feel the snacks they're eating aren't healthy.¹

Beginning this month, Dannon will provide each selected company participating in the Snack Healthy, Work Smart challenge with the tools to help improve its snacking environment: a registered dietician to audit the "state of snacking" among its employees; "brown bag lunch" discussions about nutrition and healthy lifestyles; and coolers filled with complimentary new Dannon Light & Fit® Crave Control™ reduced-sugar nonfat yogurt, which employees can enjoy as part of a smart approach to healthy snacking.

Several major employers, such as Clarins, Church & Dwight Co., Inc. and Discovery Communications Inc., have been chosen as Dannon's partners to take part in the Snack Healthy, Work Smart challenge.

"Our employees are our most important resource," said Laurie Carey, Director, Human Resources at Clarins. "Clarins is taking the Dannon Snack Healthy, Work Smart challenge because we want our office to be a place where people can snack healthy and work smart."

"On a daily basis, America's obesity problem is in the news, but snacking in the workplace is largely absent from the story," said Michael Neuwirth, Senior Director of Public Relations at The Dannon Company, Inc. "When it comes to snacking at work, convenience is often prized over nutrition and rarely does anyone ever consider the nutritional values of office snacks. Snack Healthy, Work Smart is adding other choices to the high calorie, high fat foods that can be lurking in our offices. People deserve to have satisfying, healthy and convenient options when they snack."

"To help my clients with weight management, I encourage foods that are reduced in calories and also rich in nutrients," said Mitzi Dulan, a registered dietician and advisor to the program. "A combination of protein and fiber can help satisfy hunger. This is the idea behind Dannon Light & Fit Crave Control yogurt."

In a survey of professional women conducted for Dannon, 39 percent said they were too busy to prepare or find a healthy snack to bring to work, and more than four in 10 said workplace hunger can lead them to feel drowsy or tired. Thirty-eight percent tend to snack on the closest thing available, with more than seven out of 10 turning to crackers, chocolate, candy, chips, cookies, ice cream, or snack cakes during the workday.²

More information about Dannon Light & Fit Crave Control and satisfying hunger is available at www.LNFcravecontrol.com, or contact Shari Forman at shari.forman@edelman.com.

Dannon Light & Fit Crave Control is the only reduced-sugar nonfat yogurt made with fruit, cereal and ProteinFiberPlus™. Studies have shown that consuming foods rich in protein and fiber help reduce hunger sensations. Dannon Light & Fit Crave Control has more protein and fiber than regular lowfat yogurt.

Light & Fit Crave Control comes in four-ounce four-packs available in three flavors: Strawberry & Cereal, Vanilla & Cereal, and Peach & Cereal. Each 4oz serving has 70 calories, zero grams of fat, seven grams of protein and three grams of dietary fiber. There is no added sugar in Light & Fit Crave Control, which uses the non-calorie sweetener Splenda^®. Dannon recommends eating Light & Fit Crave Control as part of a balanced and varied diet, in conjunction with exercise.

The Dannon Company, Inc., is America's founding national yogurt company and continually leverages its expertise to develop and market innovative cultured fresh dairy products in the United States. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, Dannon has plants in Minster, OH, Fort Worth, TX, and West Jordan, UT. The company produces and sells approximately 100 different types of flavors, styles and sizes of cultured fresh dairy products. Dannon is owned by Groupe Danone, one of the world's leading producers of packaged foods and beverages, and Dannon is the top-selling brand of yogurt products worldwide, sold under the names Dannon and Danone.

With a strong commitment to high-quality, wholesome, nutritious and innovative products, The Dannon Company, Inc. is committed to encouraging healthy eating and living and strives to innovate with one goal in mind: to create foods for families and individuals with their health and enjoyment in mind. For more information, please visit www.dannon.com.

¹ Simmons National Consumer Survey: Fall 2005 Adult Survey Full Year (January ‘05 - September '05).

² The Dannon Company, Inc. commissioned StrategyOne to conduct a nationwide telephone omnibus study of 330 professional women who work full- or part-time in a "white collar profession" regarding their snacking habits and behaviors during the workday. The interviews were conducted via telephone from June 16, 2006 to June 20, 2006. The margin of error for the total sample of professional women (330) is ± 5.4% at the 95% level of confidence, which means that in 95 out of 100 times that a sample of this size is drawn, the results would not vary by more than 5.4 percentage points in either direction.