Asda has today (9 June) published findings from its two-year collaboration with charity Nesta that found the partnership supported the development of Asda’s health strategy.
The strategy included the introduction of a new health target to improve the average health score of its sales year-on-year. It measured this using the Government’s Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM).
Senior director for technical, quality and sustainable sourcing at Asda Darina Hall said: “We’re proud of the health strategy we’ve developed and the progress we’ve made as part of our work with Nesta.
“These trials have shown what can work at a small scale, and our focus now is on evaluating how initiatives like these can be scaled – so we can better incentivise healthier choices and maximise the positive impact they can have on the nation’s health.”
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The collaboration also ran a series of proof-of-concept trails, which tested how different in-store “interventions” could help to reduce barriers to healthier choices. It found that six of the eight trials it conducted provided an uplift in sales of healthier products.
The supermarket has reported it will use its trial results to understand how it can integrate and scale them across the wider business.
Director for a healthy life mission at Nesta Parita Doshi said: “Our valuable collaboration with Asda shows that when you increase opportunities for healthier eating, customers respond. Our work with Asda showcases that a company-wide retailer health target can be delivered through a range of tactics, including breaking this down by category.
“We are pleased that the learnings from the partnership indicate that this approach could lead to significant health improvements and look forward to them being applied and scaled across the business and beyond.”
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