Just days after the government delayed some of the planned restrictions on promoting food and drink deemed high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS), Tesco and Sainsbury’s have announced that they will go ahead with the ban on volume-led promotions from October.
Official restrictions on promotions such as BOGOFs or 50% extra free deals in supermarkets and convenience stores have been put back until October 2023 as part of measures to mitigate the ongoing cost of living crisis. However, the implementation of placement restrictions on HFSS products in high-profile locations such as aisle ends and checkouts will go ahead this autumn as planned.
Industry experts and trade bodies welcomed the delay to the promotions ban as it risked further stretching already-pressed household budgets. Manufacturers were also facing millions in lost revenue opportunities. However, health campaigners criticised the delay, saying the government should be moving faster on deals such as BOGOFs amid soaring obesity levels.
Tesco said it was proceeding with the original plan to remove volume-led promotions on HFSS products from this October in response to customer feedback that showed 86% want to eat more healthily and 77% would like help from supermarkets in doing so.
The move comes after Tesco recently pledged to ensure 65% of its sales came from healthier products by 2025 after pressure from investor campaign group ShareAction.
Analysts suggested that the decision by the UK’s leading grocery retailer to take action on promotions will pile pressure on rival chains to make a similar commitment regardless of the government’s stance.
Last week, Tesco launched a campaign called Better Baskets, which aims to support consumers in making healthier and more sustainable choices when shopping in its stores.
The retailer noted that with household budgets stretched, it would continue reducing the number of promotions across its product range to focus on “simple, reliable low prices”, backed by its Aldi Price Match, Low Everyday Prices, and Clubcard Prices schemes.
“Our mission is to make Tesco the easiest place to shop for a healthy, more sustainable basket – while keeping the cost of the weekly shop in check. It’s vital that we keep making the right calls on behalf of customers and communities,” said Jason Tarry, Tesco’s UK & ROI CEO.
“Customers are telling us they want to eat a more healthy, sustainable diet, but without having to stretch the weekly shopping budget. We agree and, thanks to our laser-focus on great value, customers won’t need to make that compromise at Tesco.”
Chief Customer Officer Alessandra Bellini added: “With more than eight in ten people reporting a rise in their cost of living, value is the number one factor that drives choice in our stores. We will always make sure our products are competitively priced. But we can’t stop there. Obesity levels are rising among adults and children, and the health of our nation must also be at the top of our agenda.”
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s has said it is also committed to following the government’s original HFSS timeline, noting that it had phased out multibuy offers in 2016 in favour of “regular low prices”.
Chief Marketing Officer Mark Given said: “We know our customers in communities across the country are facing a cost of living crisis and want to continue to provide healthy, nutritious food for their families.
“Sainsbury’s is dedicated to making healthy choices more affordable and over the last year nearly 60% of our promotions were on healthier or better for you choices.
“We are committed to continuing to follow the government’s original HFSS promotional timelines and call on the rest of the industry to do the same.”
Commenting on the announcements by Tesco and Sainsbury’s, Mark Jones, partner and food & drink supply chain expert at law firm Gordons, said: “This is another indication that the supermarkets are committed to moving away from promotional offers on unhealthy food and drinks, whatever the legislation says. These retailers are clearly confident enough that their combination of personalised offers, low prices and focus on other drivers such as sustainability and ethical issues will be enough to keep customers coming back, even if they won’t be able to access BOGOF offers on HFSS.
“From a practical perspective they will have already removed these offers from their planning and forecasting before the ban was delayed at short notice, so reintroducing them now would be a headache which is probably not worth having.
“This approach will be welcomed by health campaigners, but not so much by the manufacturers who were hoping to delay the ban or change classification on products in an attempt to stall the new legislation.”
