Health will be driving force



By providing good produce and clear information, stores can tap into the rising interest in healthy lifestyles and encourage sales of fresh, local and organic food

For Tesco, a lot of 2008 will be about stretching the groundbreaking work we have done, such as creating a new business in the US and championing research on climate change.

Price will be as keenly felt as it has ever been. But if I am pushed to make a single prediction, it has to be that the concern to live more healthily will matter to consumers more this year than ever before.

Our customer research shows individuals are increasingly concerned about the food they eat and the way they live. Health messages such as

5-a-day have spread across the social spectrum - in no small way the result of supermarkets' campaigns. Customers want the tools to achieve healthier lives: great produce and clear information. Tesco has great produce and an industry-leading record on providing clear information to customers - for example, the rollout of GDA nutritional labels to every Tesco branded product completed in 2007. Choice and information have encouraged customers to buy fresher, more local and more organic produce.

This year will be, as ever at Tesco, about listening to customers and championing their concerns. This is what keeps us on our toes and drives us to innovate.

Tesco communicates on a weekly basis with more than 15 million customers in the UK. But listening and working with them we have the potential to achieve massive change in the field of health and nutrition. This month we launch a health drive that cuts right across Tesco. We'll relaunch the Healthy Living ranges and will introduce Light Choices. Our website, used by millions of customers, supports the store activity and we'll launch the Healthy Living Tracker, helping customers monitor what they eat and how active they are and offering simple ideas and choices to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Giving customers the information to make choices results in positive changes; carrots work better than sticks. Here is to a happy, healthier 2008.

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