Asda range plays safe
Asda will launch an own-label 'free-from' range in January 2008 that will be underpinned by a new certification scheme for suppliers.
The retailer's process manager for own-label, Phil Dalton, said the 50-strong range would initially focus on ambient packaged groceries but might expand into chilled.
Dalton, who was speaking at the Healthy Foods Summit last month, acknowledged that Asda had taken far longer than rivals to develop its own free-from products. He added: "We recognised that if we didn't have a credible offer in free-from, people that shopped this category would take all of their shopping elsewhere."
Asda had developed its own auditing and certification scheme for suppliers, said Dalton. "The British Retail Consortium global standard was just not detailed or specific enough."
