After Lidl's advance: Aldi follows suit and explains a new strategy for children's products

Created: 01/13/2023 15:48

By: Patrick Freiwah

Advertising is partly responsible for the fact that many children have an unhealthy diet.

This should be curbed in the future.

After Lidl, Aldi is also declaring a new strategy.

Munich – Even if the topic of nutrition now plays a major role in Germany: According to studies, around 15 percent of children and young people in this country are overweight, and six percent are even severely overweight (adiposity).

However, these figures are from before the Corona pandemic - so it is likely that these statistics have worsened in 2023.

Sugar, fat and salt are components that make many dishes tasty, but they are problematic from a health point of view.

Especially in childhood, an unhealthy diet can have serious consequences from which those affected suffer for the rest of their lives.

Healthy eating for children is made more difficult by advertising - Lidl is taking action

Some time ago, the consumer organization Foodwatch came to the conclusion that most of the food products advertised specifically for children were too unhealthy (over 85 percent!) by the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Industry, business and trade are undoubtedly partly to blame for the development, and there are also a lack of regulations on the part of politicians.

But the current situation is set to change:

The retail chain Lidl recently announced that it would “be the first German food retailer” to stop advertising unhealthy foods aimed at children.

The measure is to apply from March 2023 – it is aimed at yoghurts and drinks with added sugar, but also affects chocolate and other sweets.

Another change in strategy states that by the end of 2025, Lidl will only offer food in packaging that is attractive to children and that meets the WHO criteria for healthy food.

The catch: An exception should be made for promotional items on days with high sales such as before Christmas, Easter or Halloween - this applies to chocolate Santa Clauses, Easter bunnies and other confectionery that are available in the supermarkets with the typical packaging during this time.

Little girl with milkshake and ice cream: refreshing and tasty, but not healthy.

© ImageBROKER/Andrey Nekrasov/Imago

Aldi wants to adapt children's products - and promote healthier food

After the new Lidl strategy became known, the discounter Aldi also explained measures with regard to advertising for children.

This results from a request from the German Press Agency (dpa).

According to this, Aldi Süd also wants to adapt the recipes of its children's products (yoghurts, drinks, cereals) to the WHO guidelines by the end of 2025.

As a result, the discounter wants to campaign for better nutrition for children and promote conscious marketing instead of promoting unhealthy sweets.

The northern sister company was also interviewed by the news agency: According to its own statements, Aldi Nord is “continuously working on revising the recipes in its range”, which is also based on the guidelines of the World Health Organization.

In addition, the discounter chain has already “significantly reduced” direct advertising of critical foods for children.

Instead, the consumption of healthy food - for example fruit and vegetables - should play a major role.

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Unhealthy nutrition in childhood can have serious consequences

Of course, the health consequences of poor nutrition are usually only visible in the long term: an excess of sugar, fat and salt can lead to diseases such as type 2 diabetes, joint problems, high blood pressure or heart disease later in life, not to mention skin problems, depression and other sequelae.

Seven things that many children today no longer learn

View photo gallery

Carola Reimann, CEO of the AOK Federal Association, welcomes the plans of the two retail chains: "Advertising has been shown to influence the eating behavior of children and young people and must therefore be restricted." Parents and children cannot be expected to take responsibility for this topic.

Instead, people need support with regard to a healthy diet.