Asda relaunches ‘healthy’ options

Asda is relaunching its Good For You (GFY) range, repositioning it as a brand that offers all shoppers a healthy-eating alternative, rather than as a diet brand.

The move is something of a U-turn for the retailer, which last year reviewed the criteria for the range, to include only products with less than three per cent fat.

Now it is again amending the criteria, for what it claims are taste benefits. The range can now include products that are up to five per cent fat. Those that are at least 25 per cent lower in fat or have at least 20 per cent fewer calories than their standard equivalents can also be included, so long as they do not contain more than 20 per cent fat.

Under these rules, 100 new products will be added to the range and 100 lines already labelled as “reduced fat” will be moved back into the range. An Asda spokesman says: “This makes it easier for customers to find tasty as well as healthier foods in store.”

In loosening the criteria for GFY, Asda hopes that customers will no longer perceive the range to be targeted at people on diets and will recognise that it offers healthier options for all shoppers.

The spokesman denies that Asda is thinking of launching a range specifically for dieters.