Own-brand soft drink prices will not rise — Tesco

BRITAIN’S biggest supermarket chain Tesco said its own brand fizzy drinks did not go up in price when a sugar tax came into effect yesterday as they were already below a government-imposed threshold.

Fizzy drinks made by rival supermarket chains Asda and Morrisons are also unaffected, as are many other branded drinks, because their sugar content had been reduced sufficiently to be exempt from the levy. Soft drink makers had two years to prepare for the tax, although there was price increases for some own-label drinks made by Sainsbury’s as well as Coca-Cola Classic.

Britain implemented the tax on makers of sugary drinks yesterday, a move advocated by health campaigners who argue the beverages are a source of empty calories.

A charge of 18 pence per litre was levied on drinks containing five grammes or more of sugar per 100 millilitres and 24 pence per litre on drinks containing eight grammes or more.

The tax was announced in 2016, giving companies time to change their recipes.

Tesco said it had spent years cutting the level of sugar in its own label products and will not be subject to the levy. All of its own-brand soft drinks fell below the levy’s threshold in 2016.

Asda and Morrisons have also worked recently to reformulate their entire lines of carbonated soft drinks, according to company officials.

Of Britain’s big four supermarket chains, only Sainsbury’s has not reformulated its entire range.

“Health matters to our customers and reformulation has been a fundamental part of our approach to healthy eating for many years,” a spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said, noting the company has removed more than 2,667 tonnes of sugar from its own brand soft drinks. She added however: “We think it’s important that customers have choice, which is why we continue to offer a full range of soft drinks, including no added and reduced sugar options.”

Tesco, which has a 28 per cent market share in Britain and also operates abroad, said 85 per cent of the drinks sold in its stores will be exempt from the charge although some brand prices will rise.

Coca-Cola, for example, has reformulated the bulk of its portfolio, except for its flagship Coca-Cola Classic, its topselling brand, which should see its price go up if retailers pass the levy on to consumers.

UK drinks bottler Britvic said 72 per cent of its total portfolio is already below the threshold. Excluding the PepsiCo brands it sells, 94 per cent is exempt, a spokeswoman said.

But cuts in sugar, including to soft drinks Irn Bru, known as Scotland’s second national drink, have prompted outrage among some fans.