Tesco is opening its first store selling only healthy food, while also rolling out “under 100 calories” sections across multiple locations as it cracks down on promoting high fat, salt or sugar foods (HFSS).
Tesco has revealed it will ban junk food from its Southport store as it pledges to open its first healthy food-only store, ahead of the HFSS advertising ban which is due to come into force this October.
The new store, which will be opening later this month, will only offer healthy products, with no foods high in fat, salt or sugar available.
As part of a wider move to crack down on HFSS promotions and promote a healthier diet, Tesco has already begun rolling out ‘under 100 calories’ sections across a number of other prime locations.
The supermarket giant has created dedicated bays offering low-calorie versions of typically unhealthy foods such as crisps, sweets and children’s cereal ahead of a legal ban on promotions of foods high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) later this year.
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Images of the new promotional ‘ends’ have been revealed on Twitter, showing a Tesco store in Leicester giving the high-profile shelf space to healthier options and alternatives from a range of suppliers such as Haribo, Hula Hoops and Kellogg’s. Many of these new options have been reformulated to come under the HFSS threshold.
Tesco is expected to follow up on the move by introducing HFSS-compliant bays to its chilled and frozen sections over the coming weeks.
In other Tesco news, first HFSS trial store underway. Grocery ends now HFSS compliant, to be followed by chilled & frozen in the coming weeks. pic.twitter.com/z3YDp326On
— Bryan Roberts (@BryanRoberts72) January 31, 2022
Fizzy drinks have also been toppled from their prime promotional seat at the end of the aisles, with lower-sugar drinks such as coconut water and fruit juice taking their place.
Other ends moved away from food produce altogether, with cleaning products and other essentials taking centre stage instead.
The tweet thread also revealed that new promotional spaces had been carved out for confectionery, with similar plans in the pipeline for biscuits, crisps and fizzy drinks.
The launch, which has been welcomed by obesity campaigners, comes as health secretary Sajid Javid insisted that the government remains “absolutely committed” to banning junk food promotions.
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