APPENDIX 46
Letter from David North, Government Affairs
Director Tesco, to the Clerk of the Committee (OB 97A)
At the evidence session on 4 December, the Committee
requested further information on our involvement with the 5-a-Day
campaign, the increase in fruit and vegetable sales amongst our
customers and our promotional activity.
I am sorry it has taken some time to respond,
due mainly to the changing legal situation in respect of the Five-a-Day
issue below.
FIVE-A
-DAY
We launched Cancer Research UK's Five-a-Day
campaign nationally in our stores in May 2002. The central message—"Eat
at least five portions of different fruit and vegetables a day
to help prevent cancer"—was entirely consistent with
the Department of Health's own public statements. The NHS Plan
in July 2000 stated clearly that "increasing fruit and vegetable
consumption is considered the second most effective strategy to
reduce the risk of cancer . . . Eating at least five portions
of fruit and vegetables a day could lead to estimated reductions
of up to 20% in overall deaths from chronic diseases".
We were pleased with the response to the initiative.
A very large majority of customers surveyed said that they found
the Five-a-day message relevant to their lifestyles, approved
of the partnership with Cancer Research UK, and were keen that
the message should be reinforced regularly. We kept closely in
touch with Department of Health Ministers and officials on the
initiative.
Nevertheless, a small number of local authority
Trading Standards Departments took issue with the initiative,
alleging that it breached the Food Labelling Regulations 1996,
which prohibit the "labelling or advertising of food with
the claim that it has the property of preventing, treating or
curing a human disease or any reference to such a property".
We responded that this concern was misguided,
given that the initiative conveyed a message that had been devised
and disseminated by the government and by Cancer Research UK.
It was generic in nature and did not seek to promote any particular
fruit or vegetable, and certainly not any specific brand. Indeed,
we were clear from the outset that the initiative was less a marketing
campaign than a service for our customers, conveying valuable
public health information. The Food Labelling Regulations were
intended to protect consumers from unjustified health claims used
to sell specific products, not general public health information
endorsed and promoted by the government and by respected health
charities.
We were reinforced in this view by the actions
and statements of the Department of Health. In a debate in the
Commons in July 2002, Public Health Minister Hazel Blears explained
that she "was recently in a supermarket and was pleased to
see that supermarkets are beginning to market their goods in relation
to `five a day'. Indeed, that same year, the government launched
its own Five-a-Day logo, "designed to be a trusted and reassuring
symbol that reminds people of the benefits of eating five portions
of fruit and vegetables a day". In launching the logo, the
Department of Health explained that it would "appear in supermarkets
and on food packaging . . . If the logo appears on a product,
people can be confident that it will count towards the recommended
daily target for fruit and vegetables".
Despite all this, Shropshire County Council
persisted with their investigation and their threat of a criminal
prosecution. As a result, we reached the reluctant conclusion
last year that we had no alternative but to amend our message
from "Eat at least 5 portions of different fruit and veg
a day to help prevent cancer" to "Eat at least 5 portions
of different fruit and veg a day for healthier living".
However, Shropshire Trading Standards Officers
are at this point still pursuing their criminal investigation.
They have stated that they are considering proceeding to a prosecution
against Tesco (and possibly a Tesco Director personally).
INCREASE IN
FRUIT AND
VEGETABLE SALES
I undertook to provide more information on the
extent to which less-affluent customers helped to account for
Tesco's 7.5% increase in like-for-like sales of fruit, vegetables
and salads over the past year. Spending on fruit, vegetables and
salads by our less-affluent customer group has increased by 10%,
compared to 8% among mid-market customers and 4% among affluent
customers.
I believe these figures show that Tesco is helping
to make a healthy diet accessible across all income groups, including
less-affluent families.
PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY
Tesco is very committed to promoting fruit,
vegetables and salads as part of a balanced diet. The amount we
spend on promoting fruit, vegetables and salads, expressed as
a percentage of total promotional spend, exceeds the proportion
of our sales of these products.
The number of weekly promotions across fruit,
vegetables and salads can typically be around 80 or more. This
compares to a typical weekly number of promotions on confectionery
of around 15 (albeit rising to around 50 at key times such as
Christmas and Easter).
In our experience, to be effective, promotions
of fruit, vegetables and salads need to appeal to all our customers
on two key points: price and seasonality. Our range of offers
ensures that all customers can benefit, eg families or larger
households may benefit from multi-buy offers, whereas people from
single or smaller households will find money-off deals more appealing.
We also offer our `Value' brand of fruit, vegetables and salads,
aimed specifically at price-conscious customers. There are currently
over 30 `Value' brand products, including grapes, carrots, apples,
and stir-fry vegetables.
Seasonality is also important in making produce
promotions effective, eg brussel sprouts at Christmas and strawberries
during Wimbledon fortnight. We sold 3 million punnets of strawberries
over Wimbledon fortnight alone. We have just run a seasonal promotion
on stir fry vegetables to coincide with Chinese New Year.
In order to ensure the maximum impact of our
produce promotions, we put them in the most visible places (eg
end of aisles).
The comparison between produce and confectionery
promotions is not easy to make, given that the majority of confectionery
is branded, which means promotional activity is largely determined
by brand owners, in consultation with retailers, rather than solely
by retailers. However, effective promotions of confectionery,
biscuits etc also tie in to key events such as Christmas, Easter
and Halloween, with price offers such as multi-buys and money-off.
Please let me know if we can provide any additional
information. I would appreciate if you could keep us informed
about the date of publication of the Committee's report.
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