Back when the UK sugar tax was all but a murmur, we predicted that one of the biggest impacts would be product reformulation.
After all, it’s in the best interest of companies to fall under the levy. Luckily, it’s in the best interest of consumers, too!
According to the Lancet Journal, reducing 40 per cent of sugar in drinks alone may prevent 1.5 million UK cases of obesity in the next 20 years.
And that target’s getting closer now that major UK supermarkets have stepped up and cut sugar in their own-brand products. Hey, Aussie supermarkets, are you taking notes?
Tesco.
Tesco was the first to commit to a sugar reduction program. In 2015, the UK’s largest supermarket chain pledged to reduce sugar in its own-brand drinks by five per cent each year.
By November 2016, Tesco had outdone itself by cutting the sugar in all of its own-brand drinks by up to 50 per cent. That’s got to make a dent – Tesco soft drinks account for 30 per cent of sales in the UK!
Sainsbury’s.
Back in 2014, Sainsbury’s promised to cut 633 tons of sugar from its soft drinks. But we love that Sainsbury’s hasn’t simply focussed on fizzy pop. Most people know that lemonade is bad for you, but may not see the added nasties in everyday food.
Sainsbury’s have answered this call by reformulating its 80 own-brand cereals. The average sugar reduction across the range is 13 per cent, exceeding the Government’s target of five per cent by the end of 2017.
The company has also reduced sugar in yoghurt. Their Taste the Difference yoghurt range, for example, now has 19.3 per cent less sweet stuff. We can’t wait to see what they do next…
Waitrose.
Waitrose has also committed to reducing sugar in more than half of its own-brand cereals by 15 per cent on average. It goes hand in hand with its goal to cut sugar in its juices, cordials and squashes by up to 15 per cent, and fizzy drinks by up to 30 per cent.
The Co-op.
Back in 2015, The Co-op gave 25 per cent more shelf space to sugar-free or low-sugar drinks. Fittingly, more than 90 per cent of its own-brand soft drinks are either sugar-free, have no added sugar or are low in sugar.
We just hope that’s not code for lots of sugary juice or artificial sweeteners!
Aldi.
85 per cent of Aldi’s soft drink products now contain no added sugar. Again, we hope they’re not just swapping in artificial sweeteners. But it’s hard not to celebrate that fact that 3,700 tons of sugar was left out of Aldi soft drinks in 2015–2016!
Asda.
In 2015, Asda promised to remove 22 per cent of the sugar from its own-brand drinks. That’s including juice. You go Asda!
Do you think supermarket reformulation is a good idea?
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