Cook has hailed the results of a “first of its kind” research trial, after it was able to “nudge” shoppers to buy more healthy products in its stores.
Working alongside Oxford University, Cook increased the proportion of facings space given to vegetarian meals in five of its stores, from 30% to 45%, during the summer of 2024.
Crucially, it did not advertise the change to shoppers through PoS or other marketing. Nor did it reduce the availability of meat products, instead moving them to other parts of the store.
The result was that sales of vegetarian lines increased 15% in participating stores during the six-week trial, without any loss of revenue or sales overall. It also led to a reduction in the environmental impact of meals sold during that time.
While the trial was limited, it was significant because it suggested that customers could be “nudged” to make more healthy food choices, through relatively subtle changes in the retail environment, said Cook head of sustainable food Ashleigh Horn.
“It’s positive wins for people, planet and commercial,” Horn told The Grocer.
The trial is one of 10 conducted under Project Salient, a £5.5m research project being led by Oxford University, along with eight other universities, looking at how people can be encouraged to make more sustainable and healthy food choices.
Cook’s is the first trial of its kind to take place in real food environments, with real shoppers. The findings from Salient – which is still ongoing – will be used to inform future government policy on food and health, as well as research on food systems.
Cook will use the findings to influence the layout of its stores and space in the future, alongside other efforts to reduce its environmental impact across its supply chain and improve the nutrition of its food.
It comes alongside a number of other initiatives currently being run by the ready meal retailer, including its Recipes for Change initiative, to reformulate its ready meals and make its product development fit for a “more sustainable future”. Cook launched a more sustainable version reformulation of its bestselling lasagne al forno product into stores last month.
The retailer is also currently running other research trials in its stores under the next part of Project Salient, the details of which will be released in the future.
The University of Cambridge, University of Hertfordshire, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, University of Liverpool, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary University of London are the other universities involved in Salient. Innovation agency Nesta and government spin-out Behavioural Insights Team were also involved in the trail.
Findings that give weight to the the theory that the placement and proportion of food available has a direct impact on what consumers buy comes against a backdrop of government policy that is rolling in the other direction.
The Grocer revealed in July that health secretary Wes Streeting plans to scrap HFSS promotions as part of the government’s 10-year NHS plan.
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