Discount Retail Chain Lidl GB (owned by the German Schwarz Gruppe) has pledged to increase sales of healthy and healthier products to at least 85% of total sales, based on tonnage volume, by 2025.
To help achieve this, the retailer has developed a bespoke nutrient profiling system based on Public Health England’s nutrient criteria for front-of-pack traffic light labelling, focusing on fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt. Products are ranked as healthy, healthier or least healthy.
It will also assess over 200 lines each year that can be improved to meet the healthy or healthier criteria and will engage with suppliers to boost its portfolio of healthier products.
The move follows Lidl’s investment in its ‘Get Fresh’ initiative, which aims to increase the range of fresh healthy products, like fresh meat, fruit and vegetables available to customers in-store to offer healthy choices. The retailer said it is prioritising placing fresh, healthy products at the heart of customer’s store journey, with new products placed prominently at the front of store. The programme will be completed by September this year.
Christian Härtnagel, chief executive at Lidl GB, said: “At Lidl, we prove that eating healthy does not need to break the bank. Our competitive low prices across all our ranges, particularly fruit and vegetables, are marketing leading and ensure customers can access healthy food all year round.
“Our Healthy Eating Pledge is our most ambitious healthy eating target yet and is focused on helping families make healthier choices when they shop with us, without compromising on price.”
See here for more: Lidl pledges to increase healthy food sales | Retail Bulletin (theretailbulletin.com)
