Tesco Axing Sugary Drinks

The retail giant is to axe sugary drinks cartons Ribena, Capri-Sun, and Rubicon over childhood obesity fears.

19:47 29 July 2015

Tesco will no longer offer sugary drinks cartons Ribena, Capri-Sun, and Rubicon starting in September to help combat childhood obesity.

 

A Tesco spokesperson told the Mirror: "We want to help our customers make healthier choices and that’s why we have pledged to continue to cut sugar from the food and drink on our shelves.

 

"From September all the children’s juice drinks we sell will have no added sugar in them because we know it’ll make a positive difference to children’s health.”

 

The products are believed to be replaced with sugar-free branded and Tesco’s own brand selections.

 

Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer magazine, said: “Tesco’s moves for now stay well clear of the fizzy soft drinks category, which many in the health lobby are gunning for - although Tesco has said this is the start of a broader clampdown across its entire soft drinks line-up.

 

“Will Tesco really go to war with the likes of Coca Cola? The UK’s number one grocery brand is a favourite with kids. If it axes red Coke what will the impact be on its sales?

 

“And if it doesn’t, how will the health lobby react? They won’t be happy until all sugary products have been removed from the shelves altogether.”

 

The spokesman adds: "We were the first major retailer to remove sweets and chocolate from checkouts at all our stores - a change our customers told us they wanted to see."