Than death, or taxes... or so the saying goes.
Today, in the UK at least, there is news in some way related to both and here we go again if you like. The idea of taxing products that are believed to contribute to the ever burgeoning problem of Obesity.
It's tricky...
It's also very complicated to unravel the environmental, behavioural and situational factors that cause human beings to be larger than might otherwise be good for them. In its complexity comes the desire to create simple solutions that can, if you'll excuse the metaphor, lead the horse to water ie help people to lead healthier lifestyles.
We're not for a moment going to add any theories to that debate, save to say, that taxation may or may not work. Denmark looked at a "fat tax", brought it on to the statute books and then gave it up. Hungary has a similar taxation scheme (on high fat, sugar and salt products), which they seem to have implemented to be workable.
Bravo if the tax that is paid can be used to educate, inform and provide; Educate consumers of all ages on the ways to lead a healthy lifestyle, including cooking and shopping skills to "make from scratch".
Inform consumers of the reality of their choices; just because a product contains fruit or vegetables doesn't always guarantee it's nutritional "cleanliness" - the ability to look beyond the obvious, particularly in small font on the back of a packet, is tricky, nay almost impossible to the untrained observer
Providing good school meals (that children will eat!), enabling access to well priced and high quality produce isn't as easy as it sounds. Without the foundation of education and information, it could all be for nought. Oh, and let's not forget the thorny issue of Olympic Legacy. As someone who gave so much time to volunteer at London 2012, it is disheartening to continue to read of the poor provision of sport, competitive or not, at many of the UK's schools.
Well, to avoid further political debate, let's see what all this means for vending...
If there is a tax on certain products that are popular, there are choices; increase the price to the consumer and take the business impact; certainly that is possible, if not palatable. Alternatively, is it time to look to offer the consumer more choice? For vending, as a channel, to do its bit to help consumers on their route to a healthier lifestyle? Man cannot live by bread alone, so a broader selection of products may just be what the doctor ordered.
If you're interested at all in looking beyond the obvious current menus you offer, then perhaps our conference "Being Healthy 13" should be in your diary. Taking place on June 12th from 10:30 to 12:30 at NEC, we hope to see lots of you taking part in the conversation. We will be taking bookings for the conference from late February 2013 and will, of course, keep you posted.
Definitely a topic for #talkTuesday, so let us know what you're thinking
Stay well, stay healthy
The Friendly Vending Geeks
Gillian & Neil
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