One category that has bucked the upwards trend in the better-for-you sector is chilled ready meals. Sales have slumped 15.5% [TNS, year to 3 December 2006] - largely because consumers still find it difficult to correlate a health message with ready meals and because products tend to carry a premium price tag.

Across the board, efforts are now being made to inject fresh life into the category. Asda, for example, is revamping its Good For You range later this month. The brand manager, Jim Coates, says it has made the brand even healthier by removing all hydrogenated fat, artificial flavours, colours and aspartame.

"We have redeveloped more than 200 products," he says. "In addition to this we will add more than 60 new lines to the range early this year, with a further 100 to follow.

"It's important to make a distinction between diet healthy ranges and all-round healthy products. The all-round healthy and naturally healthy products are showing strong and continued growth."

Tesco's Healthy Living range is the top UK own label, with Sainsbury's Be Good To Yourself range coming second and Asda's Good For You range in third place.

With two own-label ranges in the top ten (Tesco Whole Foods is in the number nine slot) it's no surprise that the retailer dominates the healthy own-label market with a 62% share. Asda has the second highest share, but at 14.3% this is way behind Tesco.

Retailers are doing all they can to grow their own label offerings, but Coates believes nutritional labelling will be a real driving force as it will help consumers understand more about the foods they are buying.

"The Good For You brand will be breaking exciting nutritional ground," he says. "I expect this to be a future trend. Customer signposting for nutrition also seems set to grow as shoppers watch their diets. Well planned products based on customer insight are popular and drive growth. Consumers are more well-informed and demanding.

"Only brands and retailers that keep in touch with their customers and deliver appropriate healthy products will succeed. Those that can't may be left behind."

Asda isn't the only retailer sprucing up its better-for- you range. Morrisons is pumping £1m into its first healthy eating campaign to feature press ads for the Eating Smarter initiative, which went live last month.

The drive includes five-a-day labelling, GDA labels on all new lines, packaging redesigns and a new website. More than 30 additional products will join the range by April this year. Sixty new products have been added in recent months. n