Three months on and Tesco’s thoughts on Ribenagate made compelling listening this week for all retailers and suppliers agonising over their next move in the war on sugar.
Soft drinks boss David Beardmore told the Sugar Reduction Summit he was convinced Tesco would still “win” with a strategy led by the health agenda, but admitted that, so far at least, volumes in its kids lunchbox drinks fixture are still down after added sugar drinks were axed from shelves.
Longer-term, Tesco’s strategy relies on innovation in health to drive sales. Beardmore was keen to point out that since it launched its war on obesity, its share of the soft drinks category has grown.
But the episode also shows the huge collective nerve retailers and suppliers will need if they strip sugar from their products en masse.
This explains why the BRC is so keen for the government to set mandatory rules. Few retailers or suppliers will be brave enough to make those decisions, unless they know the entire industry will follow suit. But if it’s inclusiveness retailers want, it will have the very opposite effect on suppliers.
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