The Grocer – 17 August 2019

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comment & opinion

‘Health taxes’ do more harm than good

the saturday essay

T

he food and drink indus-
try is facing a crisis in the
form of crippling ‘health
taxes’. Soft drinks manufacturers
have already been hit with the
sugar tax. There’s a consultation
on a ‘milkshake tax’ and now
campaigners are calling for a cal-
orie tax. These are supposedly to
help tackle important issues such
as obesity, but will end up doing
more harm than good.
The sugar tax has seen different
soft drinks, depending on sugar
content, hit with taxes ranging
from 18p to 24p per 100ml. This
has meant part of our range of
premium soft drinks, mixers and
tonics, Franklin & Sons, is liable
to the tax and since its introduc-
tion in April last year it has cost
us in excess of £425,000.
Our research showed con-
sumers don’t want soft drinks
full of artificial sweeteners and

e-numbers you need a science

degree to understand. People

want to have confidence in what

they’re drinking and feel more

comfortable with natural ingre-

dients, including sugar. This is

despite widespread awareness

of the tax, and consumers being

bombarded with anti-sugar

messaging.

Because we understand con-

sumers want natural ingredients

and respect their ability to make

purchasing decisions, it was

never an option for us to switch

to lab-engineered sugar substi-

tutes. This would have risked

sales. I also truly believe as the

public read more and more media

stories about the safety of artifi-

cial sweeteners, they’ll increas-

ingly prefer to buy products made

using natural sugar.

Campaigners would argue

that higher prices of drinks with

higher sugar content encour-

ages people not to buy them and

improves health. This is ridic-

ulous for two reasons. Firstly,

we live in a society all about

respecting freedom of choice. If

supermarkets are priced out of

providing consumers with dif-

ferent products because rsps are

massively inflated by taxes, this

restricts choice. If consumers

suddenly can’t afford something

because the price changes over-

night, it limits their ‘choice’ and

alienates them. It won’t encour-

age positive behaviour.

Secondly, penalising compa-

nies for using natural sugar forces

them towards synthetic substi-

tutes. Is the government really

helping to improve public health

by encouraging use of such arti-

ficial sweeteners through taxing

natural sugar? Highly doubtful.

These ‘health taxes’ are

increasingly becoming the go-to

option – and they seemingly

have no limits. When the sugar

tax was mooted, it was high-

lighted that milk-based drinks

would be exempt due to their cal-

cium content. The introduction of

a milkshake tax would mean this

is no longer true. The same could,

worryingly, quite easily happen

with a calorie tax.

In the not-too-distant future,

unless attitudes change, one

single food or drink product

could be liable to multiple levels

of different ‘health taxes’. This

isn’t sustainable for the indus-

try or improving public health.

Consumers don’t want to have

choices dictated to them by being

priced out of decisions, and rising

operating costs will only threaten

business survival, further limit-

ing consumer choice and causing

public resentment.

Steve Perez is founder and chair

of Global Brands

“Consumers don’t

want soft drinks

full of artificial

sweeteners”

Steve Perez

Engage with pantomimes this Christmas

third party

Kathryn Jacob is CEO of Pearl &

Dean

As marketing activities kick

off ahead of the first wave of per-

formances that usually begin in

November, a brand partnership

is the perfect way to steal a march

on the competition and capital-

ise on an early association with

Christmas. Full integration with

the large-scale marketing of the

event in major cities will help

boost your brand in target areas,

while traditional advertising, PR

and digital campaigns will also

be effective ways to engage with

potential consumers in advance

of the performances.

When pantomime season rolls

around, retailers and brands

can fully engage with audiences

through building on the creative

and fun elements of the show.

Execution will depend on the

brand and which product you are

looking to get in front of the audi-

ence. Why not entertain guests

as they congregate in the lobby

area before the show, and dur-

ing the intervals, with experien-

tial activities?

Make the most of the high spir-

its and festive cheer that comes

with pantomime by surprising

and delighting audiences too.

For example, Littlewoods lever-

aged a partnership with ATG at

10 pantos nationwide. The brand

featured within each panto per-

formance, while hand-picked

audience members were invited

onto the stage to perform a script

with one of the entertainers. All

participants were then awarded

a Littlewoods goody bag with a

host of treats. There is a plethora

of creative alternatives to this.

If you’re a brand or retailer

looking to own the Christmas

season this year, don’t discount

the value of pantomime. It’s an

indispensable part of Christmas

celebrations for millions of

British families and is the per-

fect way to reach a relaxed audi-

ence. Oh yes it is...

C

an you believe it?
Christmas is just a few
months away.
When you think of Christmas
entertainment, what first comes
to mind? A survey from MovieTalk
revealed that for consumers, it’s
the festive pantomimes.
It might not be the first chan-
nel you think of, but there are
huge opportunities for retailers
and fmcg brands in pantomime.
Pantomime’s appeal transcends
generations and is well known for
its high audience engagement.

Kathryn Jacob