Longing for a mini show

Grocery chain Meny currently offers nine different types of Red Bull. Only two of the nine energy drinks are sugar-free.

A 0.25 liter can usually costs NOK 24.90 and now costs NOK 14.90. Meanwhile, a 0.3 liter bottle of Emsdal costs NOK 19.40.

Price is very important to people's choices, so when Red Bull becomes cheaper than water, it becomes easier to choose drinks that contain sugar and caffeine over water.

This is what the Secretary General of the National Public Health Association, Minna Gerhardsen, told DinSide. She believes this is negative for our health.

Clinical nutritionist Tine Sundfør also responds to the offer.

-I think it's hair raising, she said The newspaper onlinewho mentioned the issue first.

Reply

Mini's slogan is “Eat Better, Live Better”.

– Gerhardsen says this is hardly consistent with that message.

She believes that there are no benefits of drinking Red Bull for our body.

– When this gets a price higher than the price of water, we push consumers from what is beneficial for the body to what is less beneficial, says the Secretary-General.

She says the National Public Health Association is working to restore the sugar tax, and get a so-called health tax trade-off that would make healthy things cheaper and unhealthy things more expensive.

Price is one of the most important factors in influencing our choices, says Gerhardsen.

– In Norway, we face significant challenges related to overweight and obesity, with seven out of ten adults weighing more than the recommended amount. She explains that drinking with sugar is an important source of excess weight and obesity.

Towards the awards ceremony

The menu is responsive

According to Gerhardsen, the National Public Health Association expects big players, such as grocery chains, to take social responsibility for health and climate.

In this sense, we would like them to help push consumption towards healthy foods, such as water, instead of drinks containing sugar. Many chains have decided that sugar-free soft drinks should always be cheaper than those containing sugar. We also want this kind of thinking in campaigns, she says.

Red Bull cans will be cheaper per unit than mini water bottles until March 9, says Nina Horn-Hein, Mini's communications director.

This is because Mini during this period has an offer on Red Bull and not an offer on the water, as Hein confirms.

“When it comes to promotions on soft drinks, our practice is that we have lower promotional prices for soft drinks without sugar than for soft drinks with sugar,” she says.

– Red Bull cans contain only 250ml, so almost the liter price of all our water bottles is cheaper yet with the Red Bull offer. Two of the Red Bull varieties on offer are sugar-free.

– One of the most extreme

– I have moved candy and chocolate

Meny's communications manager said they have hundreds of offers every week across product groups, and they make sure they always have plenty of healthy products in stock.

“Now we also offer carrots, pears, grapes, cut fruit and crusty farmer’s bread,” says Hein.

Additionally, most of our stores have moved candy and chocolate to the back of the store and wellness to the front near the checkout area to reduce impulse purchases of sweets, she says.