Ribena and Capri Sun fall victim to Tesco health drive – Brand Index
Ribena and Capri Sun have become Tesco’s first victims of the retail chain’s decision to help customers make healthier choices and to tackle the serious issue of childhood health.
So the high street giant has removed small, lunchbox sized versions of the children’s – and some parents’ – favourite.
Although health campaigns reacted positively to the decision, others accused Tesco of hypocrisy, as it still sells fizzy drinks such as Coca Cola. And then there’s the issue of free choice.
In January of last year, we asked parents how many drinks of fruit juice their children had per week.
Almost a third (32 per cent) said their children have one per day. However, 59 per cent normally check the sugar content on the label of a product.
YouGov BrandIndex data underlines the impact the removal of those products could have on the brands. YouGov’s Buzz score, which measures whether a person has heard positive or negative news about a brand in the past two weeks, shows a decline for Ribena from 0.8 to minus 13.9.
And among those with at least one child in their household, the score plummeted from 7.5 to minus 14.8.
Tesco’s move will concern Ribena bosses as will the impact this will have on its target demographic.
YouGov Profiles Lite indicated that typical Ribena customers “sometimes let my children influence what I buy”, so will parents go elsewhere to placate their children? Or will they look at healthier alternatives? And will other retailers follow Tesco’s suit?
Stephan Shakespeare is the chief executive of YouGov