UK candy cull: Confectionery gets the boot at Morrisons checkouts

By Oliver Nieburg

- Last updated on GMT

 '...Parents and guardians who have told us that sweets on checkouts can sometimes lead to pestering from their children,' says UK supermarket Morrisons
'...Parents and guardians who have told us that sweets on checkouts can sometimes lead to pestering from their children,' says UK supermarket Morrisons

Related tags Asda Retailing Confectionery

UK supermarket chain Morrisons will replace confectionery with fruit nuts and bottled water at its principal checkouts by February 2016.

It follows similar moves by Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and the Cooperative. Asda and M&S are the last of the top UK supermarkets still stocking confections at checkouts at big stores.

Morrisons will initially trial the candy-free checkouts at tens stores throughout the UK. The supermarket chain is already running the alternative snacks checkouts at one in five of its stores.

Feedback from parents

 “We have been listening to parents and guardians who have told us that sweets on checkouts can sometimes lead to pestering from their children. This change will make the trip through the checkout easier and less stressful,”​ said David Potts, CEO at Morrisons.

The supermarket’s nutritionist Bryonie Hollaert, said the retailer is trying to help customers choose healthier foods.

“As well as taking chocolate away from checkouts, we are also removing sugar and salt from other food and drink products,”​ she said.

A worldwide trend?

Speaking to ConfectioneryNews earlier this year, John Downs, president of the US National Confectioners Association (NCA) said US confectioners were not yet experiencing similar pressures to remove candy from checkouts in the US.

A spokesperson for the Association of Chocolate, Biscuits and Confectionery Industries of Europe (CAOBISCO) also said earlier this year it wasn’t aware of similar movements in other European countries.

The move to candy-free UK checkouts followed a ‘Junk Free Checkouts‘ campaign, led by the British Dietetic Association’s and the Children’s Food Campaign.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) began a similar campaign calling on US retailers to remove candy at cash counters last year.

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