Sainsbury’s and Asda won’t stock Christian Easter egg
... but they DO put halal ones on their shelves
TWO of the big four supermarkets have declined to join their rivals in selling a Christian Easter egg that tells the story of Jesus.
Sainsbury’s has refused to stock the Real Easter Egg, which comes with a booklet explaining the significance of eggs during Christianity’s most important festival, while the company that makes it says Asda has ignored its approaches.
Tesco and Morrisons – the other big two – and Waitrose are stocking the eggs made by the Meaningful Chocolate Company, which has been applauded by the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu. But their two big rivals are not following suit, despite the £3.99 product selling at a rate of 400,000 a month.
One Christian group said yesterday the supermarkets were ‘whitewashing the Christian message’ out of Easter.
Both chains sell dozens of Easter eggs that are not specifically Christian, including a halal version made by the Belgian firm Guylian.
Halal food adheres to Islamic law and may, in the case of chocolate, require special types of gelatine to be used.
The row comes after the National Trust was criticised by Theresa May last week for removing the word Easter from the title of its annual egg hunts, labelling them with that of sponsor Cadbury.
The Prime Minister said it was ‘absolutely ridiculous’ the trust had removed the word Easter from posters for the events it hosts at more than 300 locations.
The Real Easter Egg range, which claims to be the only one that names Jesus on the box, includes a 24-page story-activity book explaining the death and resurrection of Christ. It says that ‘eggs are a symbol of hope and new life’.
Meaningful Chocolate boss David Marshall said Sainsbury’s and Asda appeared to be ‘not very comfortable, for some reason, with stocking Easter eggs for the Christian community’.
He added: ‘We think Sainsbury’s customers deserve the option of buying products which reflect the religious meaning of the season.
‘They provide Advent calendars for dogs but they won’t stock our Christian [Easter eggs]. Eighty per cent of the population say they want to see products which mention Easter on the shelves of supermarkets at Easter.
‘YouGov did an analysis of who shops at Sainsbury’s and the number of Christians was about 4 per cent above the average, so really what is the problem?’ But Sainsbury’s said there is not enough demand for the egg.
A spokesman added: ‘We review our Easter eggs every year and base our range on customer demand.’ Asda did not comment on the row.
Stephen Green, of the lobby group Christian Voice, said: ‘You are whitewashing the Christian message out of Christian holidays. It’s difficult to find any explicitly Christian products, like Christmas cards, in supermarkets.
‘People of other faiths or none, as Cadbury called them, are not offended by Christian products.’
Dr Sentamu said: ‘The Real Easter Egg gives consumers their first chance to buy an Easter egg that not only tastes good but does good, bringing to light the Easter themes of hope and new life.’
More than £220,000 from sales of the Real Easter Egg have been donated to charity.