Tesco Removes Sweets, Chocolates From All Checkouts

Tesco Removes Sweets, Chocolates From All Checkouts

This move is part of an ongoing effort to help customers live healthier lives.

January 6, 2015

Do you find the temptation of sweet treats at the checkout just too hard to resist?

Tesco stores in the United Kingdom are no longer selling sweets and chocolates at checkouts, a move that the retailer says will help customers lead healthier lives.

Tesco first removed sweets and chocolates from the checkouts at larger stores in 1994, but the products are now gone from checkouts at all stores, including the 2,000 Tesco Metro and Express convenience stores in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The move comes as new research based on ClubCard data from Tesco reveals that families with young children have, on average, the least healthy shopping baskets. In contrast, older adults are the healthiest shoppers. Tesco research found that nearly two-thirds (65%) of customers said removing confectionery from the checkouts would help them make healthier choices when shopping. Research also showed that 67% of parents told Tesco that having no confectionery near the checkout would help them make healthier choices for their children.

“Our customers told us that removing sweets and chocolates from checkouts would help them make healthier choices, so from today [January 5] our checkouts will be sweet – and chocolate-free zones,” said David Wood, managing director of health and wellness for Tesco, in a press release issued yesterday. “We hope this will make our customer’s lives easier, as taking sweets and chocolates off the checkouts will really help parents with young children. The response we’ve received from parents has been overwhelmingly positive, so it’ll be interesting to see if other supermarkets follow our lead and do the same thing.”

Sweets and chocolates have been replaced by a variety of healthier snacks including dried fruit, nuts and cereal bars. Removing sweets and chocolates from checkouts is part of a much wider ongoing effort from Tesco to help its customers live healthier lives.

Health campaigners and parents’ groups welcomed Tesco’s move. Katie O’Donovan of Mumsnet said: “Popping into a shop with a small child in tow can sometimes feel like navigating an assault course. If you’ve made it to the checkout in one piece it can be really frustrating to then be faced with an unhealthy array of sweets designed to tempt your child. It’s really positive to see a supermarket responding to the views of their customers and trying to make life a little bit easier.”

source: nasconline.com

Match the verbs with their objects – studying the text will help you.

1. to resist                  a) healthy choices

2. to lead                    b) a move

3. to remove               c) temptation

4. to make                  d) views

5. to issue                   e) response

6. to receive               f) a shop

7. to welcome            g) healthy lives

8. to pop into              h) a press release

9. to respond to          i) sweets

——————————————————————- 

Key:

1. c)   2. g)  3. i)  4. a)  5. h)  6. e)  7. b)  8. f)  9. d)