Tesco's Buy One Get one Free Later promo generated plenty of headlines, but is it a serious bid to reduce food waste or just a PR stunt? Joanne Grew investigates


It hasn't even launched yet, but Tesco's Defra-appeasing Buy One Get One Free Later deal or the unfortunate sounding 'bogofl' for short is already proving a valuable promotional tool.

"Buy one get one later as Tesco joins the fight to cut food waste" proclaimed one paper, sending out a clear message to consumers and more importantly government that the retailer is serious about tackling food waste and that bogofs needn't be, as Wrap asserts, one of the key reasons 6.7 million tonnes of food are thrown away by UK households every year.

But beneath the hype, how much substance is there to the bogofl? Will it really help avoid the waste supposedly generated by the bogstandard bogof? And how will it go down with fresh producers?

Sir Terry Leahy unveiled the bogofl at the launch of new report Consumers, Business and Climate Change at Manchester University's Sustainable Consumption Institute last Friday. "We must do more to help consumers waste less," he declared to an audience that included Tory leader David Cameron and business chiefs from Unilever and Coca-Cola.

"Buy one get one free later offers on perishable foods will give shoppers the opportunity to get another free salad, vegetable or yoghurt when it will be used, not all together when it may go to waste."

Full details of the timing and scale of the initiative, which will be introduced on perishable items before Christmas and enable shoppers to pick up the free item at a later date using vouchers printed at the till, have yet to emerge. But many experts see it as a no brainer.

"This looks like a promising approach," says Wrap director of retail Richard Swannel. "It will be particularly helpful for products that are difficult to freeze."

Although the announcement received a lot of PR, adds an analyst, that shouldn't detract from the bogofl's potential merits. "I think it will attract more consumers to bogofs because some shoppers currently see them as 'buy one get one you don't want free'," he says. "I think offering them the chance to delay the free item will boost sales."

The initiative also underscores Tesco's commitment to nurturing consumer behaviour as well as responding to it, believes Shore Capital analyst Clive Black. "The environment is a long-term issue and requires behavioural change at both ends of the policy and action spectrum to make a difference," he says. "In this respect, Tesco is backing up its environment corporate policy rhetoric with actions."

Other experts, however, argue that the bogof has been unfairly maligned and that although consumers perceive it to be wasteful as they can see what they throw out at home, it actually reduces waste as perishables aren't left to rot on shelf. Rival retailers, meanwhile, question whether a bogof in any form is appropriate in today's grocery environment. "Asda officially said bye bye to bogofs in January this year because we want to offer our customers a clear pricing structure," says an Asda spokeswoman.

A Sainsbury's spokesman adds that "led by what customers want", it has moved towards price-led promotions such as 25% off and half-price offers and that bogofs now account for only 10% of its promotions mainly on store-cupboard items rather than perishables. "We've also recently introduced money-off coupons that are given to customers at the till for them to use on their next visit," he says.

Asda and Sainsbury's insist they have no plans to introduce bogofl-style deals which will come as welcome news to fresh producers. "We are certainly worried," admits Martin Evans, MD of Freshgro and chairman of the British Carrot Growers Association commenting on the bogofl. "We are seeing deflation back in the category and unfortunately in the veg sector we never saw inflation. I think its going to cause a lot of pressure."

Just how much pressure depends on the scale of the initiative as does the level of waste reduction. But whether the bogofl is more PR exercise than serious bid to reduce waste, Tesco is in a win-win situation. If the next Wrap study into UK food waste shows the amount consumers are throwing away has fallen, Tesco can claim the bogofl played a part. If it doesn't, the retailer will at least have shown Benn and Defra it tried its hardest to educate consumers.

In short, the bogofl may not be as godofl as it sounds.

As confidence grows, bogof makes a return (24/10/09)
'Bogof later' spearheads Tesco green revolution (16/10/09)

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