Reducing the appeal of sugar-sweetened drinks

Staff and visitors at The Alfred are making healthier drink choices – with the hospital’s on-site retailers participating in a series of world-first trials that will see sugar-sweetened beverage sales fall by 36,500 drinks each year.

To achieve the shift in buying behaviour, Alfred Health partnered with its key on-site retailers to conduct four behavioural insights trials on the drinks environment. The trials tested whether relatively small changes in the placement and price of beverages would impact consumer choice and retail profit.

Alfred Health’s lead for population health and health promotion, Kirstan Corben said there was no significant difference in total drink sales.

“In all trials consumers kept buying drinks; they just made healthier choices,” Ms Corben said.

“Importantly, because drink sales were maintained, the change in buyer behaviour was financially viable and sustainable for the retailers.”

By utilising a traffic light system to classify nutritional value and portion size, the trials focused on changing the placement and price of ‘red’ drinks (unhealthiest), compared to ‘amber’ and ‘green’ beverages.

Deakin University, Monash University, VicHealth and the Behavioural Insights Team (UK) helped in the collection and analysis of drink sales data to measure the impacts of each trial.

The trials were successful in reducing the amount of sugar-sweetened beverages sold by around 36,500 drinks.

See the full trial results for more information.