In what’s become a healthy annual rite of passage, Sainsbury’s is rewarding customers for adding fresh, frozen or dried produce items to their shopping baskets.
The Great Fruit & Veg Challenge from Nectar allows consumers to earn as many as 1,000 loyalty points during a seven-week span from 31st July to 17th September if they select those products. And if they meet certain ‘personalized’ targets, the rewards start to add up.
“We want to make good, healthy food affordable for everyone,” said Alex Naisby, Director of Loyalty & CRM at Sainsbury’s. “We’re encouraging customers to fill their baskets with fruit and veg to make even healthier choices, with the bonus of extra Nectar points. The response to our challenge was incredible last year.”
Shoppers in fact purchased 110 million portions of fruit and vegetables during the 2023 challenge, according to Naisby. All told, more than 275 million points were doled out, allowing customers to save on thousands of products in stores and put them toward larger goals, such as British Airways flights.
How the Challenge works
To earn points, shoppers simply need to scan their Nectar app in store or online when they check out items. They can also use SmartShop to add those items. Nectar shows a summary of all points accrued and the pace at which customers are moving toward targets in the Challenge.
Once a task is completed, customers earn bonus Nectar points on top of the points collected through their usual shopping.
The Challenge is one of several key initiatives supermarkets across the UK are using to try to get families, particularly those in underserved areas, to eat more healthy food. Most persons regardless of demographic fall woefully short of consuming recommended daily portions of fruits and vegetables.
However, Sainsbury’s officials noted that there was a 20% increase last year of produce during the Challenge.
Though most produce items are eligible for Nectar points, some oddly are not, including potatoes, yams, plantains and cassava, or yuca. Neither Sainsbury’s nor Nectar offered a reason for those exclusions. Garlic and herbs also are not a part of the scheme.
