Shoppers are being tricked into assuming snacks are healthier than they are because they are frequently sold by brands that market themselves as health food stores. Major high street and online stores such as Holland & Barrett, Grape Tree, and The Source Bulk Foods are confusing shoppers by selling snacks that can be ultra-processed and high in fat, sugar, and salt on shelves next to vitamins, supplements, and whole foods. Snacks such as yogurt raisins can often contain more fat and calories than a standard Mars Bar, highlighting the deceptive nature of these products.
Yogurt raisins are sold by most healthy food stores and are advertised by Holland & Barrett as a great alternative to chocolate. Consumers are being misled with a health halo by using words often associated with healthy foods to promote a product, with yogurt raisins as a prime example of this marketing tactic.
Nutritional breakdown reveals that yogurt raisins contain 24.2 grams of fat, 58.5 grams of sugar, and 506 kcal per 100 grams. They are priced at £5.49 for a 210-gram bag, making them a high-calorie, high-sugar treat with an extravagant mark-up, which contradicts their health-oriented branding.
Ingredient deception is evident, as yogurt raisins contain a lengthy list of ingredients (13) with barely any yogurt beyond a very small amount of yogurt powder. In the Holland & Barrett version of yogurt raisins, friendly bacteria appears to come from Bacillus Coagulans Powder, a probiotic, rather than traditional yogurt, further underscoring the misleading claims.
A range of problematic snacks are sold alongside health products, including fried and salted nuts, vegetable and lentil crisps, chocolate, yogurt-covered fruit and nuts, and old-fashioned sweet shop confectionery, all marketed as treats. Grape Tree, founded in 2012 with over 140 stores nationwide, sells sugar-laden confectionery alongside nuts and dried fruits, contributing to the confusion among shoppers.
Holland & Barrett calls itself the UK's leading health and wellness store, dedicated to making health and wellness a way of life for everyone, yet it sells these unhealthy snacks, creating a contradictory positioning that critics argue undermines its health-focused mission.
Contextually, a new national health study found that 74% of people agree that establishing good health habits now is key to preventing illness in the future, but only 50% proactively manage their health, revealing a significant gap between intentions and actions in the population.
In response, Holland & Barrett is launching 300,000 free in-store Wellness Check-Ins per month nationwide as part of its Back Your Body campaign. The free Wellness Check-Ins are designed to move the UK from reactive repair to proactive health, with appointments lasting 15 minutes that can be made in-store or booked online, aiming to address the health management gap identified in the study.
The Wellness Check-Ins will provide science-backed, personalized advice to help people better understand their bodies and cut through complex information and wellness misinformation. They are aimed at helping under-40s, who are not eligible for the NHS 40+ Health Check, to take control of their health earlier, targeting a demographic often overlooked in preventative healthcare.
Implementation details include up to 4,500 trained Wellness Champions enrolled for appointments with customers. Holland & Barrett already offers free online appointments for customers, with advisors trained and certified to provide advice and make personalized product recommendations, leveraging existing systems to scale the initiative.
A new national health report suggests that access to healthcare and preventative health is increasingly becoming a postcode lottery. For instance, 56% of Londoners find it easy to access healthcare, dropping to 34% in Northern Ireland and 39% in the East Midlands and South East, highlighting stark regional disparities.
Regional variations in healthcare access and health status are further illustrated by the fact that 83% of people in Wales say they only go to the doctor when absolutely necessary, compared to 71% in London. Health pressure is concentrated in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber, where over one-third describe their health as fair or poor, indicating areas of greater need for health interventions.
It remains unknown what specific measures, if any, Holland & Barrett is taking to address the nutritional concerns raised about snacks like yogurt raisins. Additionally, how the Wellness Check-Ins will be regulated or evaluated for accuracy and effectiveness is unclear, given they are provided by a retailer rather than a medical institution. Whether other health food stores like Grape Tree and The Source Bulk Foods have similar initiatives or face comparable criticisms regarding their snack products is also not detailed in available reports.
The implications of these developments include potential erosion of consumer trust in health food stores and a pressing need for clearer labeling to prevent misleading health claims, as shoppers may become wary of products marketed as healthy alternatives.