Privacy Policy

Please read this privacy notice (“Notice”) carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your Personal Data and how we will treat it. This Notice applies to individuals who interact with VITAL PROTEINS services as consumers (“you”). This Notice explains how your Personal Data are collected, used, and disclosed by VITAL PROTEINS (“VITAL PROTEINS”, “We”, “Us”). It also tells you how you can access and update your Personal Data and make certain choices about how your Personal Data are used.

This Notice covers both our online and offline data collection activities, including Personal Data that We collect through our various channels such as websites, apps, third party networks, Consumer Engagement Service, points of sale and events. Please note that We might aggregate personal data from different sources (e.g. websites, offline events). As part of this, We combine Personal Data that were originally collected by different VITAL PROTEINS entities or VITAL PROTEINS partners. Please see Section 9 for further information on how to object to this.

If you do not provide necessary Personal Data to us (We will indicate to you when this is the case, for example, by making this information clear in our registration forms), We may not be able to provide you with our goods and/or services. This Notice can change from time to time (see Section 11).

This Notice provides important information in the following areas:

1. SOURCES OF PERSONAL DATA

2. PERSONAL DATA THAT WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU AND HOW WE COLLECT IT

3. PERSONAL DATA OF CHILDREN

4. COOKIES/SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES, LOG FILES AND WEB BEACONS

5. USES MADE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

6. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

7. RETENTION OF PERSONAL DATA

8. STORAGE AND/OR TRANSFER OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

9. ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL DATA

10. YOUR CHOICES ABOUT HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

11. CHANGES TO OUR NOTICE

12. DATA CONTROLLERS & CONTACT

1. SOURCES OF PERSONAL DATA

This Notice applies to Personal Data that We collect from or about you, through the methods described below (see Section 2), from the following sources:

VITAL PROTEINS websites. Consumer-directed websites operated by or for VITAL PROTEINS, including sites that We operate under our own domains/URLs and mini-sites that We run on third party social networks such as Facebook (“Websites”).

VITAL PROTEINS mobile sites/apps. Consumer-directed mobile sites or applications operated by or for VITAL PROTEINS, such as smartphone apps.

E-mail, text and other electronic messages. Interactions with electronic communications between you and VITAL PROTEINS.

VITAL PROTEINS CES. Communications with our Consumer Engagement Centre (“CES”).

Offline registration forms. Printed or digital registration and similar forms that We collect via, for example, postal mail, in-store demos, contests and other promotions, or events.

Advertising interactions. Interactions with our advertisements (e.g., if you interact with on one of our ads on a third party website, we may receive information about that interaction).

Data We create. In the course of our interactions with you, we may create Personal Data about you (e.g. records of your purchases from our websites).

Data from other sources. Third party social networks (e.g. such as Facebook), advertising networks (e.g. such as Google), market research (if feedback is not provided on an anonymous basis), third party data aggregators, VITAL PROTEINS promotional partners, public sources and data received when we acquire other companies.

2. PERSONAL DATA THAT WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU AND HOW WE COLLECT IT

Depending on how you interact with VITAL PROTEINS (online, offline, over the phone, etc.), We collect various types of information from you, as described below.

Personal contact information. This includes any information you provide to Us that would allow Us to contact you, such as your name, postal address, e-mail address, social network details, or phone number.

Account login information. Any information that is required to give you access to your specific account profile. Examples include your login ID/email address, screen name, password in unrecoverable form, and/or security question and answer.

Demographic information & interests. Any information that describes your demographic or behavioural characteristics. Examples include your date of birth, age or age range, gender, geographic location (e.g. postcode/zip code), favourite products, hobbies and interests, and household or lifestyle information.

Information from computer/mobile device. Any information about the computer system or other technological device that you use to access one of our Websites or apps, such as the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer or device to the Internet, operating system type, and web browser type and version. If you access a VITAL PROTEINS website or app via a mobile device such as a smartphone, the collected information will also include, where permitted, your phone’s unique device ID, advertising ID, geo-location, and other similar mobile device data.

Websites/communication usage information. As you navigate through and interact with our Websites or newsletters, We use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your actions. This includes information such as which links you click on, which pages or content you view and for how long, and other similar information and statistics about your interactions, such as content response times, download errors and length of visits to certain pages. This information is captured using automated technologies such as cookies and web beacons, and is also collected through the use of third party tracking for analytics and advertising purposes. You have the right to object to the use of such technologies.

Market research & consumer feedback. Any information that you voluntarily share with Us about your experience of using our products and services.

Consumer-generated content. Any content that you create and then share with Us on third party partners on third party social networks or by uploading it to one of our Websites or apps, including the use of third party social network apps such as Facebook. Examples include photos, videos, personal stories, or other similar media or content. Where permitted, We collect and publish consumer-generated content in connection with a variety of activities, including contests and other promotions, website community features, consumer engagement, and third party social networking.

Third party social network information. Any information that you share publicly on a third party social network or information that is part of your profile on a third party social network (such as Facebook) and that you allow the third party social network to share with Us. Examples include your basic account information (e.g. name, email address, gender, birthday, current city, profile picture, user ID, list of friends, etc.) and any other additional information or activities that you permit the third party social network to share. We receive your third party social network profile information (or parts of it) every time you download or interact with a VITAL PROTEINS web application on a third party social network such as Facebook, every time you use a social networking feature that is integrated within a VITAL PROTEINS site (such as Facebook Connect) or every time you interact with Us through a third party social network. To learn more about how your information from a third party social network is obtained by VITAL PROTEINS, or to opt-out of sharing such social network information, please visit the website of the relevant third party social network.

Payment and Financial information. Any information that We need in order to fulfil an order, or that you use to make a purchase, such as your debit or credit card details (cardholder name, card number, expiration date, etc.) or other forms of payment (if such are made available). In any case, We or our payment processing provider(s) handle payment and financial information in a manner compliant with applicable laws, regulations and security standards such as PCI DSS.

Calls to Consumer Engagement Services. Communications with a Customer Service Center can be recorded or listened into, in accordance with applicable laws, for local operational needs (e.g. for quality or training purposes). Payment card details are not recorded. Where required by law, you will be informed about such recording at the beginning of your call.

Sensitive Personal Data. We may process certain sensitive personal data that you provide to us for marketing purposes with your prior express consent. If we process your sensitive personal data for other purposes, we rely on the following legal bases: (i) detection and prevention of crime (including the prevention of fraud); and (ii) compliance with applicable law (e.g. to comply with our diversity reporting).

3. PERSONAL DATA OF CHILDREN

We do not knowingly solicit or collect personal data from children below the age of [13 ]. If we discover that we have unintentionally collected personal data from a child below [13], we will remove that child’s personal data from our records promptly. However, Vital Proteins may collect personal data about children below the age of [13] from the parent or guardian directly, and with that person’s explicit consent.

We also do not knowingly solicit or collect personal data from children below the age of [18] for the specific purposes of marketing communications.

4. COOKIES/SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES, LOG FILES AND WEB BEACONS

Cookies/Similar Technologies. Please see our Cookie Notice [insert hyperlink - https://www.vitalproteins.co.uk/cookies.list] to learn how you can manage your cookie settings and for detailed information on the cookies We use and the purposes for which We use them.

Log Files. We collect information in the form of log files that record website activity and gather statistics about your browsing habits. These entries are generated automatically, and help Us to troubleshoot errors, improve performance and maintain the security of our Websites.

Server-side tools. We may use server-side tools to track events through our website’s server, rather than through your browser. For example, we use Facebook Conversions API to improve the accuracy and performance of our Facebook ads by providing more complete data for ad optimisation by creating a connection between VITAL PROTEINS and the Meta systems without the use of cookies. Server events are linked to a Meta Pixel ID and are processed like web events sent via pixel. Web server events are used in measurement, reporting, and optimisation in a similar way as browser pixel events.

Web Beacons. Web beacons (also known as “web bugs”) are small strings of code that deliver a graphic image on a web page or in an email for the purpose of transferring data back to Us. The information collected via web beacons will include information such as IP address, as well as information about how you respond to an email campaign (e.g. at what time the email was opened, which links you click on in the email, etc.). We will use web beacons on our Websites or include them in e-mails that We send to you. We use web beacon information for a variety of purposes, including but not limited to, site traffic reporting, unique visitor counts, advertising, email auditing and reporting, and personalisation.

. USES MADE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

The following paragraphs describe the various purposes for which We collect and use your Personal Data, and the different types of Personal Data that are collected for each purpose. Please note that not all of the uses below will be relevant to every individual.

5. USES MADE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

The following paragraphs describe the various purposes for which We collect and use your Personal Data, and the different types of Personal Data that are collected for each purpose. Please note that not all of the uses below will be relevant to every individual.

• 6. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

  In addition to the VITAL PROTEINS entities mentioned in the data controllers & contact section (see Section 12), We share your Personal Data with the following types of third party organisations:

  Service providers. These are external companies that We use to help Us run our business (e.g. order fulfilment, payment processing, fraud detection and identity verification, website operation, market research companies, support services, promotions, website development, data analysis, CRC, etc.). Service providers, and their selected staff, are only allowed to access and use your Personal Data on Our behalf for the specific tasks that they have been requested to carry out, based on our instructions, and are required to keep your Personal Data confidential and secure. [Where required by applicable law, you can obtain a list of the providers processing your Personal Data (see Section 12 to contact Us).]

  Credit reporting agencies/debt collectors. To the extent permitted by applicable law, credit reporting agencies and debt collectors are external companies that We use to help Us to verify your creditworthiness (in particular for orders with invoice) or to collect outstanding invoices.

  Third party companies using Personal Data for their own marketing purposes. Except in situations where you have given your consent, We do not license or sell your Personal Data to third party companies for their own marketing purposes. Their identity will be disclosed at the time your consent is sought.

  We may share with relevant Meta Platforms certain data regarding actions that you take on our Websites such as your visits to our Websites, your interactions on our Websites, use of Facebook Connect and information collected from cookies or similar technologies including the Facebook pixel. This allows us to measure the effectiveness of our advertising, improve our marketing practices, and helps us deliver more relevant advertising to you and people like you (including on social media such as Facebook). We are a joint data controller with Meta for the purposes of this processing. This agreement means that we must provide you with this notice, but you should contact Meta directly if you wish to exercise your data protection rights in this regard. Further information, including how Meta enables you to exercise your data protection rights, and subsequently processes your information as independent data controller can be found in Meta's Data Policy, which is accessible at https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy.

  Third party recipients using Personal Data for legal reasons or due to merger/acquisition. We will disclose your Personal Data to third parties for legal reasons or in the context of an acquisition or a merger (see Section 5 for details).

  7. RETENTION OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

  VITAL PROTEINS takes every reasonable step to ensure that your personal data are only processed for the minimum period necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice. The criteria for determining the retention period for your Personal Data are:

  (a) VITAL PROTEINS will retain copies of your Personal Data in a form that allows for identification only for as long as:

  (i) We maintain an ongoing relationship with you (e.g. where you are included in our mailing list and have not unsubscribed)

  (ii) Your Personal Data are necessary in connection with the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice and we have a valid legal basis,

  (b) The duration of:

  (i) any applicable limitation period (i.e. any period during which a person could bring a legal claim against us), and

  (ii) an additional 2 months following the end of the applicable limitation period (so we are able to identify any personal data of a person who may bring a claim at the end of the applicable period),

  (c) In addition, if any relevant legal claims are brought, we may continue to process your Personal Data for such additional time necessary in connection with that claim.

  During the periods noted in paragraphs b (i) and b (ii) above, we will restrict our processing of your Personal Data to storage or, and maintaining the security of, those data, except to the extent the data need to be reviewed in connection with any claim, or any obligation under applicable law.

  Once the periods in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) above, each to the extent applicable, have concluded, we will either

  (i) permanently delete or destroy the relevant Personal Data or

  (ii) anonymise the relevant Personal Data.

  8. DISCLOSURE, STORAGE AND/OR TRANSFER OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

  We use appropriate measures (described below) to keep your Personal Data confidential and secure. Please note, however, that these protections do not apply to information you choose to share in public areas such as third party social networks.

  People who can access your Personal Data. Your Personal Data will be processed by our authorised staff or agents, on a need to know basis, depending on the specific purposes for which your Personal Data have been collected (e.g. our staff in charge of consumer care matters will have access to your consumer record).

  Measures taken in operating environments. We store your Personal Data in operating environments that use reasonable security measures to prevent unauthorised access. We follow reasonable standards to protect Personal Data. The transmission of information via the Internet is, unfortunately, not completely secure and although We will do our best to protect your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee the security of the data during transmission through our Websites/apps.

  Measures We expect you to take. It is important that you also play a role in keeping your Personal Data safe and secure. When signing up for an online account, please be sure to choose an account password that would be difficult for others to guess and never reveal your password to anyone else. You are responsible for keeping this password confidential and for any use of your account. If you use a shared or public computer, never choose to have your login ID/email address or password remembered and make sure to log out of your account every time you leave the computer. You should also make use of any privacy settings or controls We provide you in our Website/app.

  Transfer of your Personal Data. Because of the international nature of our business, we may need to transfer your personal data within the VITAL PROTEINS group, and to third parties as noted in Section 6 above, in connection with the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice The storage as well as the processing of your Personal Data as described above may require that your Personal Data are ultimately transferred/transmitted to, and/or stored at, a destination outside of your country of residence.

  We may also transfer your Personal Data to countries outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) (e.g. other VITAL PROTEINS entities) including to countries which have different data protection standards to those which apply in the EEA. We (i) have put in place European Commission approved standard contractual clauses to protect your Personal Data (and you have a right to ask Us for a copy of these clauses (by contacting Us as set out below) and/or (ii) will rely on your consent (where permitted by law).

  9. YOUR RIGHTS

  Access to Personal Data. You have the right to access, review and request a physical or electronic copy of information held about you. You also have the right to request information on the source of your Personal Data.

  These rights can be exercised by sending Us an e-mail at dataprotectionoffice@nestle.com or writing to us at Data Protection Office, Nestlé S.A., Avenue Nestlé 55, 1800 Vevey, Switzerland, attaching a copy of your ID or equivalent details (where requested by Us and permitted by law). If the request is submitted by a person other than you, without providing evidence that the request is legitimately made on your behalf, the request will be rejected. Please note that any identification information provided to Us will only be processed in accordance with, and to the extent permitted by applicable laws.

  Additional rights (e.g. modification, deletion of Personal Data). Where provided by law, you can (i) request the deletion, portability, correction or revision of your Personal Data; (ii) limit the use and disclosure of your Personal Data; and (iii) revoke consent to any of our data processing activities.

  Subject to applicable law, you may also have the following additional rights regarding the use of your Relevant Personal Data:

  • the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the use of your Relevant Personal Data by us, or on our behalf; and

  • the right to object to the Processing of your Relevant Personal Data by us, or on our behalf, for direct marketing purposes.

  Please note that, in certain circumstances, We will not be able to delete your Personal Data without also deleting your user account. We may be required to retain some of your Personal Data after you have requested deletion, to satisfy our legal or contractual obligations. We may also be permitted by applicable laws to retain some of your Personal Data to satisfy our business needs.

  Where available, our Websites have a dedicated feature through which you can review and edit the Personal Data that you have provided. Please note that We require our registered consumers to verify their identity (e.g. login ID/email address, password) before they can access or make changes to their account information. This helps prevent unauthorised access to your account.

  We hope that We can satisfy queries you may have about the way we process your Personal Data. However, if you have unresolved concerns you also have the right to complain to competent data protection authorities.

  10. YOUR CHOICES ABOUT HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

  We strive to provide you with choices regarding the Personal Data that you provide to Us. The following mechanisms give you control over your Personal Data:

  Cookies/Similar Technologies. You can manage your consent via (i) our consent management solution or (ii) your browser so as to refuse all or some cookies/similar technologies, or to alert you when they are being used. Please see Section 4 above.

  Advertising, marketing and promotions. You can consent for your Personal Data to be used by VITAL PROTEINS to promote its products or services through tick-box(es) located on the registration forms or by answering the question(s) presented by our CES representatives. If you decide that you no longer wish to receive such communications, you can subsequently unsubscribe from receiving marketing-related communications at any time, by following the instructions provided in each such communication. To unsubscribe from marketing communications sent by any medium, including third party social networks, you can opt-out at any time by unsubscribing through links available in our communications, logging into the Websites/apps or third party social networks and adjusting your user preferences in your account profile by unchecking the relevant boxes or by calling our CES. Please note that, even if you opt-out from receiving marketing communications, you will still receive administrative communications from Us, such as order or other transaction confirmations, notifications about your account activities (e.g. account confirmations, password changes, etc.), and other important non marketing related announcements.

  Personalization (offline and online): Where required by law, if you wish to have your Personal Data used by VITAL PROTEINS to provide you with a personalized experience/targeted advertising & content, you can indicate so through the relevant tick-box(es) located on the registration form or by answering the question(s) presented by our CES representatives. If you decide that you no longer wish to benefit from this personalization, you can opt-out at any time by logging into the Websites/apps and adjusting your user preferences in your account profile by unchecking the relevant boxes or by calling our CES.

  Targeted Advertising. We partner with ad networks and other ad serving providers (“Advertising Providers”) that serve advertising on behalf of Us and other non-affiliated companies on the Internet. Some of those advertisements are tailored to your interests based on information collected on VITAL PROTEINS sites or on non-affiliated websites over time. You can visit www.aboutads.info/choices to learn more about this type of advertising, as well as about how to opt-out of interest-based advertising practices from companies that participate in the Digital Advertising Alliance’s (“DAA”) self-regulatory program. Additionally, you can opt-out of this type of advertising in mobile applications from companies that participate in the DAA’s AppChoices app by downloading the app from the iOS or Android app store. You can also stop the collection of precise location data from a mobile device by accessing your device location service settings.

  11. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

  If We change the way We handle your Personal Data, We will update this Notice. We reserve the right to make changes to our practices and this Notice at any time, please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our Notice.

  12. DATA CONTROLLERS & CONTACT

  To ask questions or make comments on this Notice and our privacy practices or to make a complaint about our compliance with applicable privacy laws, please contact Us at: dataprotectionoffice@nestle.com or writing to us at Data Protection Office, Nestlé S.A., Avenue Nestlé 55, 1800 Vevey, Switzerland, or call our Customer Service Center on 08000512704.

  We will acknowledge and investigate any complaint about the way We manage Personal Data (including a complaint that We have breached your rights under applicable privacy laws).

  Data controllers Responsible for

  Nestlé Entreprises SA, Business Growth Solutions Division

  (on behalf of other Nestlé affiliated companies)

  Rue Entre-deux-Villes

  12 1800 La Tour de Peilz

  Switzerland Defining the scope and purposes of the data processing, giving relevant instructions regarding the data processing to the data

  processor.

  Nestlé Treasury International S.A.

  7, Rue Nicolas Bové

  L - 1253 Luxembourg Website/app related payment card operations.

  Point to note: in certain limited cases, another Nestlé entity might be behind the processing of your payment card details.

  Data processor Responsible for

  THE HUT.COM LIMITED

  5th Floor, Voyager House Chicago Avenue,

  Manchester Airport, Manchester, England,

  M90 3DQ (THG) Processing of consumer related data upon instructions

  received by the data controller.