EU proposals could wreck promotions
New EU food labelling regulations stand to “cause havoc” for brands, retailers and consumers, according to industry experts.
Under regulations drafted by the EU to focus on sale by weight rather than numbers, marketing promotions based on unit numbers, such as six bread rolls for the price of four, could be banned. FMCG manufacturers could also be banned from labelling products by the number of units in the pack. Instead they would have to be described by pack weight.
Alex Dzhuras-Dotta, trade marketing director at Ogilvy Action, says promotions communicated by unit number are easily understood by customers and are relevant to how people shop.
Philip Circus, director of legal services at the Institute of Promotional Marketing (formerly the ISP), says: “I don’t see why you can’t use both weights and numbers.”
