Sainsbury's to launch Good food for all of us

Sainsbury’s is launching a new campaign, promising Good food for all of us, a slogan which will feature in all of its advertising and marketing campaigns from November.

Through the new promise Sainsbury’s wants to provide good food for all customers, whatever their budget, tastes or dietary requirements, and however busy their daily lives.

Tasty, well-sourced food brings families and friends together and makes every occasion special and Sainsbury’s knows good food matters to everybody, every day. In its research 85% of adults said they'd thought about or discussed with someone else what to have for their next evening meal; making it one of life’s enduring and vital questions.

But the truth is, good food isn't easy for everyone to arrange. Many people struggle to find the time, energy and inspiration to plan, shop for and prepare the food they really want to eat or to feed to their families. 59% of people tend to cook the same dishes every week. 

And good food becomes even more challenging where money is tight for many of us, with 9 million adults experiencing food insecurity and 30% of parents skipping meals at least once a week to ensure their children have enough to eat.

Sainsbury’s aims to bring back the spark to mealtimes with Good food for all of us. By providing the widest choice of quality food and pricing its food accessibly and competitively, it's determined to help everyone make the most of their mealtimes.

Radha Davies, Director of Brands, Planning and Creative at Sainsbury's, said: “Everyone at Sainsbury’s is passionate about the food we sell, and this includes not only our 152,000 colleagues up and down the country, but our suppliers, farmers and fishing partners too. 

"Yet we recognise it can sometimes be difficult for customers to have the time, money or inspiration to access the joy that good food can bring.  So, we want to go further by actively helping to put good food - in all of its senses, from quality and taste, to value and accessibility, at the heart of customers’ lives.  Sainsburys has always been a warm, human brand and we'll seek to build even stronger connections with our customers than ever before."  

Over the past year, Sainsbury’s has been working hard to ensure all customers have access to affordable, great value food. The ongoing Aldi Price Match is now bigger than ever before with over 400 products, and since the launch of Nectar Prices last April, there are over 5,000 lower prices available in supermarkets and online when shopping with Nectar, saving customers over £371m.

Sainsbury’s Nourish the Nation community programme aims to ensure an even wider pool of people have access to balanced, nutritional and sustainable food sources, as well as helping to prevent people and communities from falling further into food poverty. 

It's also donated over 15 million meals worth of surplus food through its partnership with Neighbourly, as well as customer food donations redistributed via Fareshare.

Through innovation, Sainsbury’s aims to continue to bring exciting and different new products to customers.  This month it launched the largest lower carbon beef range ever produced in the UK through its Taste the Difference Aberdeen Angus products. Its on-the-go Flourish range was developed earlier this year directly in response to customers’ wants and needs, in this case those who may be time poor and unable to sit and eat.

The new marketing campaign was developed in conjunction with New Commercial Arts and will run across TV, Press, Radio, OOH and Cinema, as well as digital advertising on social media from November onwards. 

As it's only a couple of months to Christmas this type of initiative is most welcome. 

www.sainsburys.com

Food shopping made simpler and easier as Asda displays daily fuel prices online

Food shoppers looking to fill their car boots with groceries at the same time as they fill their car with fuel, will appreciate the latest idea from Asda, as Asda's become the first supermarket in the UK to publish local fuel prices online, thus empowering and enabling motorists to check the price of petrol or diesel before they even get in their car.

Asda's confirmed fuel prices at each Asda filling station will be available alongside other key information on the Asda Store Locator pages https://storelocator.asda.com.

The latest fuel prices will be available on the store locator page from 10.30am every morning and will show the previous day’s closing price, too.

Asda is continuing to develop a system to display real-time pricing and it expects that this will be working in the coming months.

Asda is also continuing to work collaboratively with the Government as they develop an industry-wide fuel finder scheme.

A spokesman for Asda said: “We at Asda are very proud to be the price leader in fuel costs and by sharing our prices online, customers will be able to find the best value at the pumps before they get in the car.”

www.asda.com

Soaring food prices having a detrimental impact on mental health, Which? reveals

Soaring food prices are having a detrimental impact on the mental health of shoppers and families across the UK, new research from Which? suggests.

The increasing prices of everyday groceries has worsened the mental health of one in four (25%) people, according to a new survey from the consumer champion Which? also finds rising food costs are causing a negative impact on sleep, diet and overall physical health.

When coming to mental health, some groups were more impacted than others. Three in 10 (30%) women told Which? their mental health had worsened as a result of soaring food prices.

A third of people aged 35 to 54, those most likely to be parents of young families, revealed food costs had a negative impact on their mental health. They were more likely to be negatively affected than those aged 18-35 (27%) and over 55 (18%). One person told Which?: “It’s a black cloud that never goes away” another said; “I’m living day to day”.

The alarming findings come as the price of the weekly shop is set to replace energy bills as the main worry for most households according to Which?’s most recent Consumer Insight tracker- and as MPs prepare to grill supermarket bosses over allegations of profiteering during the cost of living crisis.

The Which? survey also learned a quarter of people (23%) said rising food prices had hindered their ability to eat a healthy diet. One person told Which?: “I dread going to the shops. I worry about money as food is so expensive and stress that there's not enough food in the house for the kids to eat and that I cannot afford healthy foods.” Another said: “I’ve cut down on fresh food, I cook less and eat much worse.”

One in five (22%) people had lost sleep over food costs and another one in five said their physical health had also deteriorated. One person Which? spoke to said they go “days without eating” another said; “I've become vitamin deficient, I’m not healthy or sleeping well and am suffering from depression.”

With food inflation still worryingly and stubbornly high, Which? is concerned consumers’ mental and physical health will continue to suffer without urgent action to alleviate the financial burden. Recent Which? research found everyday family meals like pasta bake, fish fingers and chips and spaghetti bolognese have increased by up to 27 per cent in price over the last year, with some essential ingredients doubling during this time.

Elena, a mum of two from Merseyside, told Which? her mental health has suffered because the price of baby formula increased. Elena told Which?: “My baby has reflux and yet we can’t afford to buy the anti-reflux baby milk. It’s gone up from £11.50 in 2021 to £14. If your body doesn’t produce milk it isn’t a choice, you just shouldn’t have to pay a premium for something which is a necessity. Thinking about it brings me to tears. 

“I didn’t have babies until I was in a financially stable situation. We should be doing well but instead, we're looking at an uncertain future. We worked very hard for what we have and I feel so angry we and other families aren't being looked after. We feel our best interests just aren't being looked after. That all builds and builds up and I feel like a pressure cooker waiting to explode.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was right last week to put the focus on supermarkets in looking to help millions of people who are struggling with the soaring cost of their weekly shopping. MPs on the Business and Trade Select Committee must seize the opportunity to challenge supermarkets to do more to help when they question grocery bosses in Parliament.

While the whole food supply chain affects prices, Which? firmly believes supermarkets could be doing more by ensuring smaller convenience stores stock a range of essential budget lines that support a healthy diet, especially in areas where they are most needed.

Supermarkets also need to commit to clearer unit pricing, especially on promotions and loyalty card offers, so that people can easily work out which products offer the best value. 

Given the urgency of this cost of living crisis, the government must act now and work with supermarkets to secure these changes that could make a real difference to millions of people struggling to put food on the table.

Sue Davies, Which? Head of Food Policy, said: “Which? research shows how the sustained stress and worry caused by rising food prices is now having a detrimental impact on people’s mental and physical health. Women and young parents are among the worst affected and some people struggling to feed their children are asking themselves how much more of this they can take.

“Now's the time to act. The government must urgently get supermarkets to commit to stocking essential budget ranges in all their stores, particularly in areas where people are most in need, as well as make pricing much clearer so shoppers can compare prices and find the best value products.”

https://www.which.co.uk

That's Food and Drink has carried a story on Foodbanks which can provide help to those who are having problems with food buying https://thatsfoodanddrink.blogspot.com/2023/06/food-industry-is-helping-those-in-need.html

Shock new figures from Asda reveal UK regions outside London suffering most with cost-of-living struggle

Most recent data from Asda’s Income Tracker show the squeeze on household disposable incomes is much more severe for families living in certain parts of the UK than others, with households in Northern Ireland living on average weekly disposable income of just £95.

The decrease in disposable income has been particularly evident for low-income families, with 40% of UK households in negative income last month, so their take home pay didn't cover spending on bills and essentials. 

Families in Northern Ireland, the North East and the West Midlands struggled the most during the second quarter, when average weekly disposable incomes were at £95, £133 and £163 respectively, well below the UK average of £208 across the quarter to 30 June.

In addition to these regions, other areas of the UK that also saw a decline in disposable income during the quarter were the South East (excluding London), East of England and Wales.

Those regions faring worse than others during the cost-of-living crisis tend to be characterised by a greater concentration of spending on consumption categories that have seen high inflation recently. They also have lower employment rates or a higher concentration of employment in lower paid or low wage growth occupations than other parts of the UK.

In contrast, many families living in London fared better with rising living costs and have seen disposable incomes rise by 5.8% year-on-year to an average of £272 per week during the same period. A key factor behind this rise is the strong labour market and concentration of higher paying jobs in the capital city.

While family disposable income as a whole across the UK rose by £5.74 a week in June to an average of £210 per week, a 2.8% increase compared to the same period last year, rising living costs continue to outstrip wage growth for the majority of households that are outside our capital. 

Asda continues to support families across the UK and last week announced it was cutting the prices of in excess of 200 own-label lines by an average of nine percent. Products include a host of fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen meat and fish products, cupboard staples and popular ready meal options.

Kris Comerford, who is Asda’s Chief Commercial Officer, commented: “We know families are continuing to feel the pinch financially, especially as they head toward the long summer holidays, and so they're looking for help to make their grocery budget stretch a bit further. Whenever there's a chance for Asda to help them make their money go further by lowering prices, we'll continue to do this.”

Asda's also extended its massively popular ‘Kids Eat for £1’ café meal offer until the end of the year. Since launching this initiative last July, Asda has served 2 million meals from its cafes and invested £1.3m subsidising the offer to keep the meal prices at £1. 

Asda recently added a selection of half priced adult meals to the menu, thus giving a family of four the chance to enjoy a meal in any Asda café for as little as £8.50 in total.

www.asda.com