Tesco has announced that it will be removing confectionery from checkouts across its full range of store formats by the end of December 2014.
The move follows research showing that 65% of customers believe that removing sweets from checkouts will help them make healthier choices when shopping, with 67% saying it would help them make healthier choices for their children.
Tesco was the first major retailer to remove sweets and chocolate from checkouts at its larger stores in 1994, but this will now roll out to all stores including Tesco Metro and Express formats.
“We’ve already removed billions of calories from our soft drinks, sandwiches and ready-meal ranges by changing the recipes to reduce their sugar, salt and fat content. And we will continue to look for opportunities to take out more,” commented Philip Clarke, Tesco CEO.
Tesco will be trialling a variety of healthier products at checkouts before implementing the full change across all of its stores by the end of the year.
The supermarket giant’s move follows in the footsteps of Lidl’s Healthy Checkout initiative that it announced it was rolling out to all of its 600 stores in January following a trial period in 2013. The initiative saw sweets and chocolates replaced by healthier options including dried fruits, oatcakes, nuts, seeds, fruit and water.
