Lidl is to remove cartoon characters from its own-brand cereal ranges to help parents resist pester power and tackle Britain’s growing childhood obesity crisis.The discount retailer, which has almost 800 UK stores, pledged to remove cartoon characters from eight of its cereal ranges by spring. The company said it was prompted to take action after nearly three-quarters of parents said their children pressurised them to buy certain items in the supermarket, with more than half believing cartoon characters on packaging encouraged this.Many of Lidl’s cereals have unhealthy-sounding names that will not be changed – such as Choco Rice, Cereal Cookie, Choco Shells and Frosted Flakes – but the company says that over the last four years it has reduced the sugar content by 20%.Georgina Hall, Lidl’s head of corporate social responsibility, said: “We want to help parents across Britain make healthy and informed choices about the food they buy for their children. We know pester power can cause difficult battles on the shop floor and we’re hoping that removing cartoon characters from cereal packaging will alleviate some of the pressure parents are under.”
Cereal Change
Cereal Change
