Children's Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI)

CFBAI is a voluntary self-regulation pledge program created to improve the children’s food and beverage advertising landscape. Food and beverage companies and quick serve restaurant companies that participate in CFBAI have agreed to the CFBAI Core Principles to help address the challenge of childhood obesity. Under the Core Principles, participants commit that, in advertising primarily directed to children under age 13 in the United States (U.S.), they will either not advertise any foods or beverages to children in this age group or will advertise only foods or beverages that meet CFBAI’s Category Specific Uniform Nutrition Criteria.

CFBAI is administered by BBB National Programs, which also administers the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU). CARU’s Guidelines apply to all companies that advertise to children and address how all products, including foods, are advertised to children. CFBAI’s Core Principles apply only to CFBAI participants and determine what foods they can advertise to children in covered media.

In 2006, BBB National Program’s predecessor organization, the Council of Better Business Bureaus, and leading U.S. food and beverage advertisers created CFBAI to respond to recommendations from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that self-regulation do more to address concerns about food and beverage advertising to children in light of the national problem of childhood obesity. IOM had recommended that food and beverage companies shift their child-directed advertising emphasis to foods and beverages that are lower in calories, fats, salt, and added sugars, and higher in nutrient content. FTC had recommended that self-regulation could do more to address concerns about how foods are marketed to kids. CFBAI was created with the goal of improving the children’s food advertising landscape through nutrition standards for foods advertised in child-directed media.

Originally 10, now the 21 leading food and restaurant companies that participate in CFBAI have evolved the foods they advertise to children and how they advertise to do their part to help address childhood obesity in the U.S. The founding CFBAI participants were Campbell Soup Company; The Coca-Cola Company; General Mills, Inc.; The Hershey Company;  Kellogg Company; Kraft Foods Inc.; Mars, Inc.; McDonald’s USA, LLC; PepsiCo, Inc.; and Unilever USA.

CFBAI is a dynamic program that has demonstrated continuous incremental improvement since its launch. Its Core Principles have regularly been updated to reflect changes in children’s media environments and evolving government dietary guidance.

Currently 21 of the leading U.S. food, beverage, and restaurant companies participate in CFBAI.

• Burger King Corporation
• Campbell Soup Company
• The Coca-Cola Company
• Conagra Brands, Inc.
• Danone North America, PBC
• Ferrara Candy Company
• Ferrero USA, Inc.
• General Mills, Inc.
• The Hershey Company
• Hostess Brands, LLC
• Kellanova
• Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc.
• The Kraft Heinz Company
• Lindt & Sprüngli USA Inc.
• Mars, Incorporated
• McDonald’s USA, LLC
• Mondelēz Global, LLC
• Nestlé USA
• PepsiCo, Inc.
• Post Foods, LLC
• Unilever USA

Overall, these companies represent the vast majority of food advertising directed to children in terms of the number of ads and the ad spend. Participating companies vary in their product portfolios. While some participants may advertise products to children in accordance with CFBAI’s standards, others have committed to not advertise foods or beverages to children at all.

CFBAI participation is open to all food, beverage, and restaurant companies and not all companies that advertise foods generally or to children participate in the program. CFBAI actively seeks out and is always open to new participants. Responsible marketing practices, especially regarding children, are an important part of corporate social responsibility and CFBAI welcomes non-participants to join the program or use its strict Uniform Nutrition Criteria when advertising to children.

Modeled after CFBAI, the Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI) is a voluntary, opt-in program designed for members of the National Confections Association that wish to follow CFBAI’s Core Principles. All CCAI participants commit to not engage in advertising primarily directed to children under age 13 and to not advertise to children in elementary schools, the same basic commitments of the five confectionery companies that participate in CFBAI.

CCAI was created in 2016 in partnership with the National Confectioners Association (NCA).

CCAI was created to allow small-to-medium sized confectionery companies to take part in efforts to improve the children’s advertising landscape. CCAI recognizes that many confectionery companies have fewer administrative resources than those already participating in CFBAI. Because that disparity can present a barrier to participation in the full CFBAI, the CCAI’s administrative requirements are more streamlined than those in CFBAI.

First, CCAI participants do not submit an individual pledge. Instead, participation is noted on BBB National Program’s CCAI webpage. Second, CCAI participants are not required to submit annual self-assessments. Each CCAI participant submits an annual certification that it has complied with the CCAI Core Principles. CFBAI also independently monitors compliance with CCAI participants’ commitment not to engage in advertising primarily directed to children in measured and other covered media.