Students know the theory, but have a hard time selling health-focused solutions in the workplace.
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One of the hardest challenges for new nutrition and Food Science and Technology students is the application of nutritional science standards to real-world business environments. While they learn principles of health and evidence-based guidelines, many students graduate without knowing how to effectively advocate for good nutrition at work. This is because many schools don’t teach students how to promote nutrition science while keeping costs in mind, meeting deadlines, and dealing with competition in the market. Without proper preparation, graduates seeking to create healthier products often lack the necessary tools, potentially undermining their nutrition goals.
Academic nutrition education focuses on biochemistry, micronutrient metabolism, dietary guidelines, and empirical research. However, students also need an understanding of business constraints, such as cost structures, supply chain operations, consumer preferences, and regulatory compliance. For example, students learn that reducing sodium and added sugars improves health, a non-negotiable principle in professional practice. But what about the technical and economic problems that come with reformulation? Such as finding new ingredients, how they change the taste, and how much they cost.
Insufficient collaboration
The significant gap between academia and industry arises from insufficient collaboration. While education systems rightly emphasise scientific rigour, evidence-based methods, and regulatory awareness, students also need business knowledge to effectively advocate for nutrition within commercial constraints. The industry needs professionals who will champion nutritional science rather than simply follow business directives. Industry innovation outpaces academic curriculum updates, leaving students uninformed about new technologies or market changes that could facilitate healthier products. Limited collaboration between food companies and educational institutions means students graduate unprepared to be the nutrition advocates that industry and public health truly need.
This disconnect is alarming for students who want to work in marketing, food science, product development, and nutrition. They know the theory, but have a hard time selling health-focused solutions in the workplace. They have to answer questions such as “How can we make food healthier without spending too much money?” or “What changes to the recipe make food healthier while still tasting good?” They need to see these as chances to work together to solve problems, not as choices where nutrition loses.
Taking strategic steps can help bring these two groups closer together. It’s important to use real-world examples in business classes and hands-on learning in things like product fortification. When students look at real business decisions that take into account taste, nutrition, and following the rules, they are better prepared for the job market. Industry mentorship and internship programmes help students apply classroom learning to real-world challenges while helping professionals understand emerging perspectives. Guest lectures from food scientists, regulatory experts, and product managers provide authentic industry insights into challenges, limitations, and commercial decision-making factors. Regulatory science, food laws, and business basics should be part of educational paths, as should administrative processes, patents in food innovation, and market research.
What is needed
The current gap between industry and academia represents an opportunity. Students learning both nutritional science and business problem-solving can drive decisions that lead to healthier products, better nutrition policies, and improved public education. Companies successfully delivering truly healthy, convenient options naturally achieve profitability. Rather than compromising nutrition for profit, businesses should lead in nutrition science for long-term success.
What is required is to teach students to champion nutritional science within commercial environments and not accept compromises. Better education shows that scientific integrity and commercial success aren’t competing goals but interdependent ones. This is nutrition education’s next frontier.
The writer is President of Nutrify Today Academy.
Published – February 01, 2026 10:00 am IST
