HEALTHY UPDATE
A sea change in snacking
When it comes to healthy food in vending, so much has been achieved in recent years driven by health-conscious consumers wanting healthier varieties in snacks, confectionery and soft drinks. Government intervention has also played a key role in recent achievements through legislation.
With rising obesity levels, thought to have doubled in the last two decades in the UK, and with the population regarded as one of the most obese in Europe, the government took action to introduce the soft drinks levy, or sugar tax, in April 2018. This is a levy put on drinks companies to crack down on high sugar levels in soft drinks. It was designed to reduce the
consumption of drinks with high added sugar and by November the same year had raised a total of £152 million. The soft drinks levy has had a significant impact on suppliers, a
vast majority of whom have taken major steps to spring clean their offering and now most offer a low caloried, low sugar version of soft drinks. In fact, most manufacturers pre-emptively reformulated many of their products to avoid the tax. But of course, when it comes to soft drinks, there’s probably nothing healthier than water and statistics reveal that UK water consumption is rising. Last year this was put down to the country experiencing the hottest summer on record rather than having anything to do with the sugar tax. However, Zenith Global predicted that the UK market will continue to grow robustly, but at a slower pace than in recent years. Wenlock Spring’s Matthew Orme describes water as the “the
healthiest form of hydration, free from preservatives and additives”. “This makes natural source water particularly appealing in a vending environment. As health continues to be a key driver throughout the food and drink industry, operators can capitalise on this rapidly developing consumer trend by providing ‘better for you’ options that equally satisfy strong provenance and sustainability credentials. “With the negative impact of sugary drinks widely reported,
bottled water is dominating the market, outstripping sales of fruit juice. In the face of an obesity crisis, we believe that the healthy choice should also be the easy choice. Suppliers and operators have a responsibility to provide the best possible healthy alternatives and
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