The Grocer – 13 January 2018

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk 13 January 2018 | The Grocer | 25

Sir, Waitrose’s recent
announcement that it will be
banning all sales of energy
drinks to kids under the age
of 16 is a smart move, but if it
doesn’t offer an alternative,
they’ll just look elsewhere.
Teenagers across the UK are
sleep-deprived and lacking
in focus. This is down to a
number of factors – nature
and hormones (of course), but
also the pressures of school
life. News this week that two
of Apple’s shareholders have
urged the tech giant to take
action on the negative impacts
social media and smartphones
have on young people shows

just how big the problem is.

Any one of these factors could

lead to unhealthy food and

drink choices.

Kids are using energy

drinks to give them a lift, but

are unknowingly putting lots

of ‘bad stuff’, like artificial

ingredients and sweeteners,

preservatives and lots of sugar,

If energy drinks

are banned, what

is the alternative?

I am not so optimistic

● Sir, None of the ‘movers
and shakers’ featured in your
‘Highlights, predictions and
resolutions’ for 2018 (6 January,
p26) seem to have acknowl-
edged the biggest single threat
to all their ambitions: the antic-
ipated fall in consumer confi-
dence and spending that most
forecasters are expecting.
The number of retailers who
went bust last year was 28% up
on 2016 and the combination of
business rates, wage costs and
price hikes from suppliers will
almost certainly increase that
tally this year.
Nor did most of them face
up to the continuing uncer-
tainty surrounding this on-
going Brexit folly. Maybe they
think focusing on currently
fashionable upmarket die-
tary preferences will insulate
them. Richard Lim’s excellent
Saturday Essay in the same
issue (p22) should disabuse
anyone who thinks exiting the
EU won’t have an impact.
Ian Wright, by contrast, (p33)
is fully switched on to the chal-
lenge ahead and I wish him well
in his ambition to make the FDF
the food industry’s first port of
call for Brexit-related issues.
Dr Kevin Hawkins OBE

into their bodies. We launched

Brain Füd as the natural

alternative to the artificial

energy drinks. It is packed full

of vitamins, contains no added

sugar, is low in calories and

has guarana – a natural source

of caffeine. We have to make

changes in this key market,

and give people a healthier way

to boost their energy levels,

naturally. We also believe in

promoting healthy habits.

We have been working with

UK universities to provide

students with healthier ways

to get a mental and physical

boost. The combination of

physical exercise, time away

from technology and natural

foods has to be better than

artificial energy drinks.

Well done Waitrose, this is a

good move.

Philip Udeh, founder, Brain Füd

your tweets

Tesco launches 20-strong vegan

range Wicked Kitchen

Another good example of the

grocers seeking to tap into

growth in highly price elastic

categories, and in own label.

@molly_ gdretail

Hula Hoops Puft adds chilli

SKU ahead of £1.5m push

Ok... I know it’s wrong to be

excited by this news... but

there’s a new Hula Hoop

flavour

@chrisitv

Farm subsidies to continue at

same level until 2024, pledges

Michael Gove

Progress, and part of what

we called for last year.

@CalumKerrSNP

RIP Richard Cousins

● Sir, I only took real interest in

Richard Cousins’ tragic accident

because I knew about his eldest

son, Will, being such a dynamic

force in Open Britain. Then, the

more I read, the more I belat-

edly recognised his father’s sig-

nificant achievements. I’ll leave

it to others who knew him to

talk about his warmth of char-

acter and how he transformed

Compass. But, after reading his

obituary, I need to say a very

respectful RIP to him.

Martin Ballantine, Piracy

Corporation

Show more bottle

● Sir, In recent months a vari-

ety of recycling and deposit

schemes have been gain-

ing column inches. I support

this, but how can impactful

changes materialise when the

brands that can lead the charge

get away with the bare mini-

mum? Only a handful have pro-

actively invested in schemes

with longevity. Case in point –

Starbucks’ 5p cup charge is only

being rolled out in up to 25 out-

lets. Where’s the real effort?

Brands should take responsi-

bility to educate and guide cus-

tomers in alternative choices

while putting the environment

front of mind when considering

innovation. And they should

work with the government to

truly create impact – so that the

revenue from deposit schemes

and levies is invested in preven-

tative solutions.

Sumen Rannie, commercial

director, SodaStream UK

Yes, food price inflation

should ease – but we can’t

afford to get complacent

Mike Coupe has been right

on food prices before – with

his warning last March

that the pound’s weakness

since Brexit would lead to

further inflation proving

depressingly accurate. And

his latest prediction echoes

The Grocer’s own analysis

on what will happen to

food prices in 2018, which

found that an improved

production outlook for key

global commodities and

the levelling out of sterling

should bring some stability.

Carina Perkins, 10 January

Can Dave Lewis really get

suppliers to cut the price of

healthier food?

In a frank admission, Lewis

conceded that one main

reason why hard-up families

had been less responsive to

its healthy eating campaigns

was what he called the

“unjustified” prices charged

by suppliers for a raft

of healthy products. He

accused suppliers in some

cases of failing to do enough

to tackle obesity by keeping

their prices artificially high.

Ian Quinn, 9 January

Retailers can help detoxify

detox season

The 2018 Annual Detox

plan by Goop, the lifestyle

site run by self-proclaimed

health guru Gwyneth

Paltrow, is determined in

its desire to make January

joyless. The detox instructs

followers to eliminate

from their diet all caffeine,

dairy, gluten, ‘nightshade’

vegetables (tomatoes,

aubergine, peppers and

potatoes), soy, refined sugar

and eggs, to name a few.

Ash O’Mahony, 8 January

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ENERGY PRICE
Kids are using energy drinks to give them a lift, but are
unknowingly putting lots of ‘bad stuff’ into their bodies

• Philip Udeh, founder, Brain Füd