Our purpose of ‘providing good food for all of us’ goes beyond developing nutritious and healthier products. We also understand we have a responsibility to positively encourage customers towards making healthier choices and shopping habits. We see placement, pricing and promotions as key strategies to deliver our target of healthier sales by 2025. 

Our Commitments

We understand that product placement and in-store promotions play an integral role in a customer’s decision-making process when shopping. So far, we have implemented the following:

• In 2004, we removed confectionery from supermarket checkouts. In our convenience stores, where space is limited, we ensure healthier choices are on offer at checkouts to help encourage healthier lifestyles
• In 2016, we were the first retailer to stop all multi-buy offers on food and soft drinks
• Reducing prices across our high-volume lines and offering our customers quality products at great value
• Striving to ensure that the healthier choices are never more expensive than the standard equivalent – whilst this isn’t always easy to manage with changes in pack sizes and promotions, this is an integral part of our trading practices and dedication to cementing our position as the UK’s most trusted retailer
• Working to increase the percentage of healthier products in more prominent in-store locations. In 2019, we conducted a successful 50 store trial in supermarket stores displaying healthier products in our checkout areas
• Only allowing healthier products to be included in campaigns aimed at families and children. For more information on how we define healthier choices, click here.
• In 2021, we revised our heathy marketing policy which outlines our commitments in relation to our marketing activity to deliver our aim of providing good food for all of us.

Test & learns

We are trialling a range of different initiatives to understand how we can support customers to make healthier choices. More information on our test and learns and the results can be found here.

Implementation of the Governments Promotions Restrictions on High Fat, Sugar & Salt (HFSS) Foods

As of April 2022, retailers in England will not be allowed to display HFSS products in highly visible parts of the store including checkout, plinth ends and front of store; the same applies for online equivalents. The Government’s objective is to reduce over-consumption of such products and we expect the Scottish and Welsh Governments to follow Westminster’s lead in due course. Through bilateral discussions with DHSC, as well as meetings with our trade association, we are helping to inform the draft statutory instrument that will regulate this activity. 

We are supportive of the Government’s obesity strategy and accept the spirit of proposed restrictions to promotions of high fat, salt and sugar products (HFSS).’ But at the same time we call for the draft regulation to be clearer, for businesses to be given more certainty in implementing. 
What next steps are needed?

With obesity levels across the UK still at crisis point, retailers and food manufacturers are working hard to improve the nutritional content of food and reduce the level of unhealthy products available to customers, there is still more work to do around in-store product placement and promotions.

References
https://files.digital.nhs.uk/publicationimport/pub22xxx/pub22610/hse2015-child-obe.pdf