Latest news with #Fresh5
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Tesco UK boss: 'Price alone won't help customers to shop a healthier basket'
Ashwin Prasad, the chief executive of Tesco's UK arm, writes: 'We, and the whole food industry, can and must innovate and find new ways to encourage healthier choices' Good health starts with good food. We all know the importance of getting a balanced diet – for our health, and the health of those we care about. But worryingly, the latest data shows many of us aren't getting the nutritious diet we need. Fewer than one in five adults and one in 10 children regularly eat the recommended five-a-day. That needs to change. Getting enough fruit and veg can reduce the risk of longer-term health conditions, like heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer. As the Government's new food strategy rightly identifies, the more people we can help to eat their five-a-day, the more people we can help to live healthier lives. That means we need to listen and understand the barriers people face to getting their five-a-day. Over the last year, we have been working with the British Nutrition Foundation to understand in more detail the challenges our customers face when it comes to eating healthily. We spent time in communities up and down the UK, speaking to community members, including youth and charity workers, council members, and health professionals. Affordability is of course front of mind for many. But it's clear that price alone won't help customers to shop a healthier basket. We want to help our customers make small changes that amount to big health benefits for themselves and their families. People told us they want help with ideas and inspiration, or need more confidence in cooking healthy meals. And they want to see young people empowered to make healthier choices through access to fruit and veg and education. We, and the whole food industry, can and must innovate and find new ways to encourage healthier choices, so we can put healthy food in the hands of customers, more of the time. That's why at Tesco we are launching a campaign to help families eat their five-a-day. We are investing in new initiatives to inspire and incentivise our customers to make healthier choices easier for everyone. That includes new personalised Clubcard Stamps for millions of customers on fruit and veg that will be tailored to their buying habits, Clubcard Challenges on frozen and tinned fruit and veg and pulses, additional Clubcard prices and offers in store, and refreshed recipe inspiration online. That's on top of long-running promotions on fruit and veg, like Fresh 5, and two thirds of our Aldi Price Match products being healthy. We'll also be building out our support for kids to get off to a healthy start in life. As well as providing millions of pieces of fruit and vegetables to thousands of children in 400 schools across the UK this year through our Fruit & Veg for Schools programme, we'll be giving away free fruit for kids in selected stores across the UK during the school holidays. We're committed to doing our part, now and in future – but we won't solve this alone. It's time for the whole food industry to come together with the Government and wider society so that great nutrition is something everyone can enjoy. As Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting says: "Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year, triple the budget for ambulance services. Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable. The good news is that it only takes a small change to make a big difference. If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day - the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink - obesity would be halved. This government's ambition for kids today is for them to be part of the healthiest generation of children ever. That is within our grasp. With the smart steps we're taking today, we can give every child a healthy start to life. "Our brilliant supermarkets already do so much work for our communities and are trying to make their stores heathier, and we want to work with them and other businesses to create a level playing field. Through our new healthy food standard, we will make the healthy choice the easy choice, because prevention is better than cure. By shifting from sickness to prevention through our Plan for Change, we will make sure the NHS can be there for us when we need it." Only through collective and co-ordinated action across the whole of the food industry can we make an impact at scale. Doing so will not only help millions of families to live healthier lives. It will also boost our economy, reduce the number of people living with long-term health conditions linked to poor diet, and relieve pressure on our health services. The Government's plans to mandate food businesses to report on healthy food sales and take action to increase them are a positive step. We look forward to working with them on the details of the Healthy Food Standard and its implementation by all relevant food businesses to create a truly level playing field. We're committed to playing our part, working with the wider food industry and our health charity partners. We've shown what's possible when we work together as an industry. Through further collaboration and innovation, we can work to put healthy choices into the hands of customers, wherever they live, more of the time.
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Major Tesco Clubcard overhaul begins that will benefit millions of UK shoppers
The supermarket giant wants to help shoppers shop healthier Tesco has unveiled a major shake-up to its Clubcard rewards scheme this week which is set to benefit millions of households. The supermarket giant disclosed that from Thursday, July 24, Clubcard members will be able to accumulate tailored rewards on selected products throughout its stores. Under the revamped system, customers will be invited to collect personalised Clubcard points on fresh fruit and vegetables. These points can subsequently be transformed by shoppers into bonus Clubcard points and vouchers for use in-store. Beyond fruit and veg, Tesco will also launch the fresh Clubcard Challenges initiative to provide customers with additional points on frozen fruit and vegetables, beans and pulses, reports the Manchester Evening News. Tesco will also roll out fresh Clubcard prices and deals on fruit, vegetables and nutritious lunchbox treats as part of the updated programme, building upon the retailer's weekly Fresh 5 promotions on five-a-day essentials. Commenting on the modifications, Ashwin Prasad, Tesco UK CEO, said: "We understand that for many, there are barriers that make healthy eating feel hard. "We want to help our customers make small changes that amount to big health benefits for themselves and their families. "That's why we're setting out to make healthy choices easier every day, starting with new offers and support for families in store this summer. "We're bringing customers new ways to earn Clubcard points and vouchers as a fun and engaging way to help them towards their five-a-day, on top of new and existing great value offers on healthy staples." As well as launching fresh methods to collect rewards and reductions when purchasing fruit and vegetables with a Clubcard, Tesco will also be providing youngsters with complimentary fruit at the till as a means of encouraging nutritious eating habits. The complimentary fruit initiative will operate for a substantial portion of the school break from August 4 through to August 17, with Tesco anticipating distributing more than 3.5 million apples across the fortnight. The reductions on fruit and vegetables follow after the producer and Tesco supplier Place UK revealed the balmy conditions experienced across the UK recently had resulted in a "wonderful crop". After the exceptionally robust cherry harvest this year, Tesco has introduced bigger 600g and 1kg packaging of the fruit to its outlets, costing £4.50 and £6 respectively. Tesco cherry buyer Olivia Amey said: "The recent heatwaves have created the biggest UK cherry yield for at least three years with many growers around the country seeing unexpected extra production of about 10 to 15 per cent higher than normal for this time of year. "The quality of the fruit this year is first class with plump flesh, a firm texture that is juicy and a sweet taste with a slight tartness that perfectly balances the flavour. "We're very happy to help out our British growers and customers at the same time." To encourage healthy eating throughout the summer months, Tesco will also overhaul its 5-a-day section on the Tesco Real Food website to offer recipe suggestions and culinary inspiration.
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Tesco brings back free fruit for kids and Clubcard changes
From August 4 until August 17, children shopping with their families in Tesco stores will be able to pick up free fruit at checkout. This continues the work of Tesco's Stronger Starts Fruit & Veg for Schools programme, and the supermarket expects to give away over 3.5 million apples over two weeks. Millions of customers will also be offered the chance to earn extra Clubcard points and vouchers by choosing to buy more fruit and vegetables. These can then be converted into bonus points and vouchers. The campaign, developed in partnership with the British Nutrition Foundation and backed by Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP, also includes: Free fruit for kids in Tesco stores from 4–17 August Millions of customers be able to earn extra points through new Clubcard Challenges on frozen fruit and veg, beans and pulses. New Clubcard Prices and offers across the summer on fruit, veg and healthy lunchbox snacks, on top of weekly Fresh 5 offers on five-a-day basics. A revamped 5-a-day hub on the Tesco Real Food website to provide recipe ideas and inspiration. The campaign will run across Tesco stores and online to help incentivise customers to make healthier choices through offers and recipe inspiration. Ashwin Prasad, UK CEO, Tesco, said: 'We understand that for many, there are barriers that make healthy eating feel hard. We want to help our customers make small changes that amount to big health benefits for themselves and their families. "That's why we're setting out to make healthy choices easier every day, starting with new offers and support for families in store this summer. Recommended reading: "We're bringing customers new ways to earn Clubcard points and vouchers as a fun and engaging way to help them towards their five-a-day, on top of new and existing great value offers on healthy staples.' Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, added: 'Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year. Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable. But we can't do this alone. "The declining health of the nation requires a national mission, working with all parts of our society – from industry to influencers – to reverse the decline and make sure that kids today grow up to be part of the healthiest generation ever."
