Improving nutrition for children in their early years: How supermarkets can enable healthier food choices
Supermarkets are uniquely positioned to improve diets for young children due to their significant scale, reach, and the trusted role they play in daily life. Controlling over 80% of UK grocery spending, these retailers possess an exceptional capacity to influence positive nutritional outcomes for children under five.
Ensuring high-quality nutrition during the first five years is essential, as this period establishes the foundation for lifelong health, development, and well-being. This phase of rapid growth, encompassing brain development and the formation of eating habits, is highly sensitive to nutritional quality, which impacts cognitive function, immunity, and the long-term risk of chronic disease. Nutrition from conception through age two is particularly decisive in shaping physical, cognitive, and emotional outcomes. However, a historical lack of targeted intervention means the current food environment often works against families. Systemic barriers frequently make unhealthy choices both the more convenient and more affordable option, particularly for those on low incomes.
This report illustrates how supermarkets can reshape this environment to improve children’s diets, delivering both commercial value and significant societal benefits.
Key Findings
The affordability gap: In the UK, the cost of healthier food options has risen at twice the rate of less healthy alternatives.
UPF consumption: UK children under five are the highest consumers of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in Europe for their age group, a trend that persists as they grow older.
Promotional imbalance. Over 41% of all UK supermarket promotions are currently focused on HFSS (High in Fat, Salt, or Sugar) products, creating a retail environment that often conflicts with parental health goals.
A Framework for Change
This research will continue through 2026 in collaboration with our partners. Our framework identifies interventions across three key pillars:
Individual supermarket actions: Initiatives specific to an organisation’s own store and digital environments.
Collective industry actions: Collaborative efforts where supermarkets can drive greater impact by working together.
Policy-enabled interventions: Working with the government to deliver legislative changes and standardised reporting.
Strategic Recommendations
Our report recommends three potential interventions for supermarkets:
Dedicated healthy food aisles: Establishing specialised shelf locations or aisles specifically for nutritious children’s food.
Healthy Start Scheme extension: Increasing awareness and eligibility to support low-income families in accessing healthy staples.
Healthy product commitments: Ensuring a minimum percentage of stock-keeping units (SKUs) meet agreed-upon healthy criteria.
Authors: Ian Stephenson, Tim Pemberton
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