LAWRENCE — A new study from the University of Kansas details how U.S. tobacco corporations expanded into global food markets from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, using strategies honed through cigarette sales to market ultra-processed foods, which are industrially processed and contain ingredients and additives that maximize their appeal. The research appears in the American Journal of Public Health .
"We'd previously published on U.S. tobacco company activities in relation to the U.S. food system," said lead author Tera Fazzino, associate professor of psychology at the University of Kansas. "In that prior study, I noted that tobacco-owned food company activities extended far beyond the United States. They had an extensive international business development strategy. Given the global conversation about ultra-processed and hyperpalatable foods saturating food systems, it felt important to investigate that international dimension. This study contributes to understanding the origin and nature of these foods and how they became widespread globally."
For two decades, tobacco firms heavily invested in food companies, applying marketing, distribution and product-engineering strategies developed in the tobacco business.
"The scale was massive," said Fazzino, who also serves as associate scientist at the KU Life Span Institute's Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment . "For Philip Morris, its food business, for a substantial period of time, generated sales comparable to its tobacco business — roughly a 50–50 split. A significant portion of those food revenues came from international markets."
Meanwhile, Fazzino said, R.J. Reynolds had closer to 30% of its portfolio in food sales.
"But it also maintained a very large international food presence," she said. "In many of the regions where these companies operated, their food subsidiaries were among the largest players in those markets at the time."
Fazzino's co-authors were KU graduate students Sydney Kong and Gayeon Lee, along with undergraduate research assistant Madison Stewart.
The researchers found that tobacco companies applied their long-established business strategies directly to their food operations.
"On the business development side, they aggressively expanded and acquired local companies to build infrastructure within regions," Fazzino said. "This allowed them to distribute their primary products efficiently. They also created coordinated product distribution and sales systems that integrated both tobacco and food operations."
On the product-development side, tobacco companies used strategies similar to those previously applied to cigarettes.
"For example, they manipulated product size," Fazzino said. "Just as they had introduced 'king-size' cigarettes to increase consumption occasions, they later used similar size strategies in food products — king-size sugary drinks, cookies and other items."
Fazzino said tobacco firms also developed products that maintained "full flavor" while being marketed as lighter or healthier.
"In tobacco, this meant 'low-tar' or 'low-nicotine' cigarettes," she said. "In food, it meant 'low-fat' or 'light' versions of products designed to appeal to health-conscious consumers while retaining strong flavor profiles."
The researchers found that different tobacco firms developed their food businesses in different geographic areas, even if their marketing and product-formulation strategies were similar. According to Fazzino, the data indicate tobacco companies held leading market shares in multiple regions.
"Philip Morris expanded rapidly into Canada, where it held leading market positions in many product categories as early as the late 1980s," she said. "Its entry into the Canadian market was swift and aggressive. The company also expanded significantly into Europe and secondarily into parts of Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. R.J. Reynolds primarily focused on Central and South America, and Mexico, and also expanded into parts of Europe and Asia. Collectively, this meant that from the late 1980s through the mid-2000s, large portions of the globe were covered by one or both companies."
The public health implications of increased ultra-processed and hyperpalatable foods in the world's food supply are substantial, Fazzino said.
"Globally, there is ongoing discussion among scientists, policymakers and citizens about the shift toward ultra-processed and hyperpalatable foods," she said. "There is now strong evidence that these foods carry significant health risks. Their risk profile parallels other major contributors to morbidity and mortality, including smoking. As these products were disseminated internationally using highly refined and efficient business strategies, the potential for global health harm was significant."
Fazzino cited rising rates of obesity and related metabolic and cardiometabolic diseases in many parts of the world.
"These increases have paralleled shifts in food systems toward more ultra-processed and hyperpalatable foods," she said.
Although tobacco companies divested from food businesses in the early to mid-2000s, Fazzino said their influence in disseminating ultra-processed foods globally leaves a legacy.
"The food companies continued operating under profit-maximizing models that had already proven successful for other addictive products," she said. "It's likely other food companies observed these strategies and adopted similar approaches. As a result, these practices appear to have spread across the global food industry."
According to Fazzino, today at least 70% of the U.S. food supply is composed of hyperpalatable foods, and their presence globally is elevated. The KU researcher said policymakers could apply lessons from tobacco regulation, including labeling, marketing restrictions and litigation.
"However, food presents unique challenges because people must eat," Fazzino said. "In food systems saturated with ultra-processed and hyperpalatable products, such as in the U.S., stronger regulation of the nutrient profiles and properties that drive addictive qualities may be necessary. In contrast, South American countries, which have not experienced saturation of their food supplies, have implemented warning labels and other measures with demonstrated public health benefits."
