Results from Asda’s two-year partnership with research organisation Nesta have shown its in-store trials have delivered sales growth in healthier products.
UK supermarket chain Asda has published findings from its partnership with independent research and innovation charity Nesta, which revealed a “positive sales uplift” in the majority of its healthier choices trials.
The trial initiatives included giving increased prominence to so-called “healthier choices” in key store areas, adding healthier snacking bays with clear signage and offering incentives to customers, such as vouchers and children’s snack offers, to encourage consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Health-led in-store initiatives show positive sales results
As part of the partnership, Asda and Nesta said they “committed to running a series of proof-of-concept trials” across up to 20 stores to test how different in-store interventions could reduce barriers to customers choosing healthier options, while remaining commercially sustainable. In six out of the eight trials undertaken by the retailer, there was an uplift in sales, with five of them achieving double-digit growth according to Asda.
The partnership with Nesta has been used to help shape Asda’s long-term health strategy, including the introduction of a health target to improve the average health score of its sales year on year, which is measured using the Government’s Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM). While the trial was conducted on a small scale, Asda stated that the results offer encouraging signs of how health-led initiatives can help drive sales of healthier products.
“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.”
Darina Hall, senior director of technical, quality & sustainable sourcing at Asda, commented: “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.”
The full report can be accessed here.
