Activities of the ICC Whole Grain Initiative

The following ICC Whole Grain Initiative international working groups are actively engaged in driving whole grain acceptance and increasing whole grain product availability worldwide:

1.      Food Policy working group

2.      Processing, Reformulation, & Supply Chain Engagement working group

3.      Communications working group

4.      Economic Evaluation & Affordability working group

5.      Asia-Pacific Region working group

 

Additionally, the WGI is supporting a “special project” on the topic of Whole Grains & Sustainability, partnering with environmental scientists and other experts through an interdisciplinary approach.

3. Communications working group

The WGI understands the importance of putting forth a cohesive, hopeful narrative that frames whole grains as delicious, modern, accessible, healthy, and sustainable. This story should unify stakeholders and resonate globally, locally, and culturally. Research shows that consumers often respond better to messages about taste and flavor than they do messages about health. Knowing that, this group aims to lead with messaging about taste, fun, and ease, while grounding the advice in science and health. Successful campaigns normalize whole grains as part of modern, enjoyable eating — particularly for children and families.

The WGI’s Communications Working Group will focus its 2026 efforts on amplifying a positive narrative around whole grains that frames them as delicious, modern, accessible, healthy, and sustainable. 

The two priority activities the team has agreed to focus on are:

  • Building on the success of International Whole Grain Day by strengthening outreach and participation worldwide. The group plans to broaden engagement with schools, policymakers, universities, and other partners, while exploring opportunities to expand the celebration beyond a single day into a potential week-long or month-long campaign. Additional efforts may aim to recruit country-level participation and develop simple, accessible ways for organizations and individuals around the world to take part.

  • Mapping existing educational resources on whole grain intake among children and building a comprehensive ‘Resource hub’ to make them easily accessible. Where gaps are identified, the working group will develop targeted new materials to fill those needs. The working group will support initiatives that bring whole grain education directly into schools, hopefully including collaboration with registered dietitians and other health professionals who can lead classroom activities and hands-on projects with students. To make it easier for educators and school food providers to participate, the ‘Resource hub’ will include practical materials—such as one-page guides and presentation decks—featuring key information about whole grains, simple ingredient swaps and recipe ideas, and easy activities that help children learn about whole grains in an engaging way.

Throughout the year, the Communications Working Group will also work to strengthen WGI’s social media presence with administrative support from the ICC office. Group members will help generate content highlighting whole-grain research, initiatives, and events, while the ICC office will support posting and coordination. The group will also collaborate with other working groups to promote their achievements/activities and bring greater visibility to the overall impact of the Whole Grain Initiative. For example, help with private sector webinar series, connect with policy makers on ISO standard and ask for commitment to adopt WG def, develop a global ad campaign to announce new dietary intake recommendation when published, etc.)

Activities:

  • Create cohesive and consistent messaging and strategies around the promotion of whole grains, understanding that leveraging partnerships and aligning communications amplifies whole grain messaging and helps capture consumer attention.

  • Organize an annual event that brings together partners and stakeholders from around the world to raise awareness and create cohesive messaging around whole grains and health. (This group has hosted six annual International Whole Grain Day events since 2019).

  • Create resources about processed whole grain foods and the shortcomings of NOVA’s “ultra-processed” categorization based on recent scientific studies and alternative classification systems

  • Create better resources to explain the connections between whole grains and sustainability

  • More generally, create a cohesive, hopeful narrative that frames whole grains as delicious, modern, accessible, healthy, and sustainable

  • Manage social media accounts for WGI

Wholegrain Initiative