// Lidl pledges to increase sales of healthy and healthier products to at least 85% of total sales by 2025
// Discounter invests in Get Fresh initiative to add 100 new fresh food products to stores
// Lidl sets additional target to increase the sale of fresh fruit and veg by 35% by 2026
Lidl has announced a new health pledge that will see it increase sales of healthy and healthier products to at least 85 per cent of total sales over the next four years.
The British arm of the German discount grocer said its new Healthy Eating Pledge would be based on tonnage volume, and that the target will be achieved by 2025.
Lidl said its specialist nutrition teams have developed a bespoke nutrient profiling system (NPS) based on Public Health England’s nutrient criteria for front-of-pack traffic light labelling, focusing on fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt.
READ MORE:
- Lidl eyes ambitious carbon neutral target by 2022
- Lidl to sell carbon-neutral cheddar in UK grocery first
- Co-op to launch “extensive” recycling scheme in 2300 stores
The retailer said the NPS would then allow it to rank all products as healthy, healthier or least healthy.
As part of the commitment, Lidl’s teams will assess over 200 lines each year that can be improved to meet the healthy or healthier criteria.
Lidl said it would also engage with suppliers to ensure it boosts its portfolio of healthier products.
The move comes after the discounter invested 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 even more healthy choices.
Lidl added that its stores continue to be upgraded with larger, energy-efficient chillers which can stock more than 100 new and exciting products on shelves.
It said it would prioritise placing fresh, healthy products at the heart of customer’s store journey, with new products located prominently at the front of store.
The programme is set to be complete by September.
“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,” Lidl GB chief executive Christian Härtnagel said.
The latest commitments are in addition to steps Lidl has previously taken to promote healthy eating among children and reduce pester power, including the removal of cartoon characters from its own-brand cereal ranges.
In addition, in 2014 Lidl became the first supermarket in Britain to remove sweets and chocolates from checkouts nationwide.
Lidl was also one of the founder signatories to the Food Foundation’s Peas Please pledge in 2017 and committed to running more discounts on vegetables to make greens more affordable for more families.
This year, Lidl strengthened its existing pledges by setting an additional target to increase the sale of fresh fruit and veg by 35 per cent by 2026 and will report actual sales annually.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
