Healthy Eating Research

What Healthy Eating Research does

Healthy Eating Research (HER) is a private nonprofit national research program established in 2005 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. Its mission is to identify effective policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies to improve children's nutrition and prevent childhood obesity. HER convenes expert panels, funds external research, and disseminates peer-reviewed publications, fact sheets, policy briefs, and systematic reviews through a free, open-access website (healthyeatingresearch.org). Outputs are organized across ten focus areas including Beverages, Early Childhood, Food Access, Food Retail, Food Marketing, Pricing & Economics, and School & After School, with publication placement in outlets such as JAMA, the Journal of Nutrition, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

HER's core products are not commercial technology but rather a curated research and publications database (224 indexed publications), the 2026-2027 Rapid Response Research Agenda for U.S. Children and Adolescents, expert panel reports such as the May 2026 Ultraprocessed Foods Report defining UPFs for U.S. policy purposes, age-segmented Tips for Families feeding and beverage recommendations, and a portfolio of current funding opportunities for academic researchers. A complementary sub-brand, Healthy Drinks Healthy Kids, delivers focused beverage guidance for children ages 0-18. There are no APIs, SDKs, or commercial software products; the underlying platform is a research coordination and dissemination hub rather than a technology product company.

The organization's business model is entirely grant-funded rather than revenue-generating. HER is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, whose two-decade commitment to child obesity ends in December 2025, prompting a transition into legacy planning and a national research agenda development phase. All publications and resources are provided at no cost, distribution is digital-self-serve via the website plus email, social, webinars, and academic channels, and revenue is not publicly disclosed. The organization employs between 1 and 10 staff and operates nationally within the United States.

Name

Healthy Eating Research

Legal name

Healthy Eating Research

Website

https://healthyeatingresearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Healthy Eating Research (HER) is a Durham, NC-based nonprofit national research program, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, that funds and disseminates peer-reviewed research and expert panel recommendations on policy, systems, and environmental strategies to improve children's nutrition and prevent childhood obesity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Nutrition Research

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDACAMAF

Obesity Prevention & Healthy Lifestyle Programs (Early Years)

Education/Early Childhood Education/Health and Nutrition Programs for Young Children

SECONDARYBPADAJAD

School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Food Security & Nutrition Programs

SECONDARYEDACAMAC

Infant & Toddler Nutrition Education (Complementary Feeding)

Education/Early Childhood Education/Health and Nutrition Programs for Young Children

SECONDARYHLAJAEAC

Nutrition Policy, Dietary Guidelines & Fortification Programs

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Food Safety & Nutrition Regulatory Authorities

Keywords

• Nutrition policy research
• Childhood obesity prevention
• Food environment strategies
• Public health nutrition
• Healthy eating research

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Healthy Eating Research is a national research program that funds, conducts, and disseminates research on policy, systems, and environmental strategies to improve children's nutrition and prevent childhood obesity. It convenes expert panels to develop evidence-informed recommendations on topics such as ultraprocessed foods and healthy beverages, publishes peer-reviewed research in leading academic journals, and provides free public access to a searchable research and publications database, fact sheets, policy briefs, and age-based feeding and beverage recommendations for families.

Product overview

Healthy Eating Research (HER) is a national research program that identifies effective policy, systems, and environmental strategies to improve children's nutrition and prevent childhood obesity. The organization operates as a research coordination and dissemination hub rather than a traditional software product company. Its core offerings include a searchable Research & Publications Database containing expert panel reports, fact sheets, research briefs, and journal articles; the Rapid Response Research Agenda providing strategic research priorities; and specific resources like the Ultraprocessed Foods Expert Panel Report that offers evidence-based definitions and policy recommendations. HER also provides practical resources for families including age-based feeding and beverage recommendations, facilitates funding opportunities for researchers, and organizes its work across ten focus areas covering beverages, food access, nutrition policy, school meals, and related topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Healthy Drinks Healthy Kids: A complementary initiative focused on healthy beverage recommendations for children ages 0-18, providing guidance on drinks for different age groups.

Products and services

• Research & Publications Database

Quantifiable outcome

• 9.2% of afterschool sites offered fruits or vegetables during snack - highlighting the need for policy intervention
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Share Our Strength (No Kid Hungry): Share Our Strength / No Kid Hungry funds and advocates on child nutrition programs (school breakfast, summer meals, SNAP). Its research-to-program model for child food access parallels HER's evidence-to-policy work.
• Food Research & Action Center (FRAC): FRAC researches and advocates on food insecurity and federal nutrition programs (SNAP, WIC, school meals). Its policy-research and anti-hunger mission overlaps HER's food access and nutrition policy focus areas.
• Prevention Institute: Prevention Institute develops frameworks and research on community-level prevention, including healthy eating and active living. Its policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) approach is methodologically aligned with HER's stated focus.
• Action for Healthy Kids: Action for Healthy Kids is a nonprofit that provides programming, grants, and school-based interventions to address childhood obesity and nutrition in K-12 — directly comparable to HER's School & After School focus area and tip sheets for families.
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation: The Alliance for a Healthier Generation supports healthier schools and child-care settings through evidence-based programs and policy advocacy. Like HER, it targets childhood nutrition/activity via policy, systems, and environmental change.
• Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health: The Rudd Center at the University of Connecticut conducts research and policy analysis on food marketing, access, and nutrition — closely paralleling HER's focus on policy, systems, and environmental strategies to improve diets, especially for children and low-income populations.
• Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI): CSPI is a nonprofit advocacy and policy organization that produces evidence-based reports and campaigns on nutrition (sugar, sodium, food labeling, school food). It shares HER's evidence-to-policy pipeline for U.S. nutrition policy.
• Duke Center for Childhood Obesity Research: Based in Durham, NC alongside HER, Duke's childhood obesity center conducts intervention and policy-relevant research on pediatric obesity prevention — directly comparable in subject matter (child obesity) and methods (community/policy interventions).

Broad incumbents

• Trust for America's Health: Trust for America's Health produces policy research and reports (e.g., State of Obesity) shaping U.S. public health priorities including childhood obesity. It is a broader public-health player but intersects with HER on nutrition and obesity policy.

Others

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: RWJF is HER's sole major funder and a primary U.S. philanthropy funding research on healthy children, food, and obesity. It is not a peer in the operating sense but is the principal counterpart and ecosystem gatekeeper for HER's research enterprise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HEResearch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQea8ghgiLB775Oobp4bk-Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/HEResearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/healthyeatingresearch
• Instagraminstagram.com/healthyeatingresearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Healthy Eating Research