No more playful packaging: Will it really help fight childhood obesity?

Earlier this year, Lidl UK announced that by mid-2025, it will have eliminated child-friendly packaging from its least healthy own-brand products, including bakery items. The supermarket giant – which operates over 12,350 stores worldwide – claims this move will go further than the UK’s upcoming legislation set to restrict advertising of high-fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) foods to children from October 2025.

“As a father of young children myself, I know how influential packaging designs can be on their preferences and therefore understand the importance of taking a proactive position to better support parents up and down the country,” said Richard Bourns, chief commercial officer of Lidl GB.

The discounter will strip away 3D or animated shapes, vibrant colours, and playful product names that don’t directly reflect the items inside. Take Lidl’s popular gummy bears, for example – gone will be the cartoon characters, replaced with a simple, fruit-forward design.

Consumer watchdogs have applauded the move. “Despite the critical importance of good nutrition for children, commercial foods high in sugar and salt are often heavily marketed towards children, making it impossibly hard for families to navigate their way through the supermarket aisles without falling victim to pester power,” said Rebecca Tobi, senior business and investor engagement manager for the Food Foundation. “Ahead of new government regulation coming in later this year, this is a very welcome and market-leading move by Lidl GB to better support families to access healthier diets.”

Sayonara, pester power

This isn’t Lidl’s first rodeo when it comes to tackling pester power – the age-old marketing strategy that fuels kids’ relentless pleas for sugary treats.

Back in 2020, the discount retailer first announced it would remove cartoon characters from the packaging of its own-brand cereals, like Choco Shells, Rice Snaps, and Honey Rings. This followed its industry-first move in 2014 when it banished sweets and chocolates from checkout aisles, forcing competitors to play catch-up.

“We know pester power can cause difficult battles on the shop floor, and we’re hoping that removing cartoon characters from cereal packaging will alleviate some of the pressure parents are under,” said Georgina Hall, Lidl’s head of Corporate Social Responsibility, at the time.

Health advocates were quick to champion the move. Katharine Jenner, campaign director for Action on Sugar, said, “We fully applaud Lidl GB’s decision to remove cartoon characters from all its cereal packaging by spring 2020. If they can do it, why can’t everyone else?”

So, following Lidl’s lead, Aldi also tackled the issue. “We recognise that pester power can sometimes make this difficult in the aisles and so began removing cartoon characters last year,” said an Aldi spokesperson in 2020. “Completing that process and waving goodbye to the last of those characters is one more step we are happy to take to support our customers.”

The mascot magic and why kids love them

Cartoon mascots have long been the rock stars of food branding, turning breakfast cereals, snacks, and bakery items into household names. From the 1950s onward, TV and branding strategies made characters like Tony the Tiger (They’re gr-r-reat!), Toucan Sam (Follow your nose!), and the Trix Rabbit (Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!) childhood icons.

However, a June 2019 study by Action on Sugar and the Children’s Food Campaign analysed 526 food and drink products featuring cartoon animations and found that 51% of them were high in fat, sugar, salt, or saturated fat. “Manufacturers are deliberately manipulating children and parents into purchasing dangerously unhealthy products, which can encourage pester power and excessive consumption. These characters should only be used to promote healthy foods,” said Jenner.

But despite mounting pressure, no comprehensive ban has been imposed on using mascots for less nutritious foods. While some companies have begun to clean up their act, many beloved characters still play Pied Piper, leading children straight to sugary treats.

The global crackdown: Who’s pulling the plug?

Lidl isn’t alone in cracking down on food mascots. Around the world, regulators have been busy booting cartoons off unhealthy products.

Chile’s 2016 Law of Food Labelling and Advertising put a hard stop to cartoon characters on foods high in calories, sugar, salt, or saturated fat to make unhealthy products less appealing to children. Since the law took effect, Chile has reported a decline in high-sugar cereal consumption.

Mexico followed suit in 2018, enacting its own ban on mascots in food marketing. This forced major companies like Kellogg’s to strip Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam off cereal boxes. “For more than 70 years, Kellogg in Mexico has been committed to ensuring access to wholesome, safe and affordable food, labelled transparently so Mexican consumers can make informed choices about their diets,” said a company spokesperson.

The UK is also tightening the reins, with upcoming legislation restricting the advertising of HFSS foods to children from October 2025.

Can Lidl’s strategy actually work?

Lidl’s move aligns with evidence-based policies aimed at reducing childhood obesity. But will it be enough?

Stripping cartoon characters off packaging may help curb pester power, but at the end of the day, parents still hold the purse strings. If they continue to buy the same products out of habit, nostalgia, or convenience, the impact of these changes might be minimal.

Some experts argue that reformulating snacks and cereals to be healthier would be a far more effective approach. Lidl has already dipped its toes into this with its Funsize fruit and vegetable range, which cleverly repackages produce with playful branding – featuring characters like Tawny Tomatowl and Banana-Llamas – to make healthy eating more fun for kids.

If other retailers follow Lidl’s lead, we may see a wider industry shift toward responsible marketing. However, as long as brands continue using mascots to push less nutritious products through digital ads and social media, the impact of removing them from packaging could be undercut.

The future of mascots: Can they be heroes instead of villains?

While some brands are retiring mascots altogether, others are reinventing them for a healthier future. Take Crave, a UK-based brand specialising in vegan and allergen-friendly snacks. Its products – like Smokey Bacon Streakers and Sugared Ring Dodoughs – offer fun characters that promote familiar flavours without the artificial additives. “Consumers are looking for fun, better-for-you alternatives that still deliver on taste, and we believe brands can engage with them responsibly without relying on outdated marketing tricks,” said founder Rob Brice.

Lidl’s initiative is a bold step in addressing childhood obesity, but the real test will be whether consumer behaviour follows suit. Will kids really stop craving their favourite treats just because the mascot has vanished? Or will they simply follow their noses to the same sugary cereals, just in plainer boxes?

As a famous cartoon character once said: That’s all, folks!

Studies:

Harris JL, Graff SK. Protecting children from harmful food marketing: options for local government to make a difference. Prev Chronic Dis. 2011 Sep;8(5):A92. Epub 2011 Aug 15. PMID: 21843422; PMCID: PMC3181192.

Mc Carthy CM, de Vries R, Mackenbach JD. The influence of unhealthy food and beverage marketing through social media and advergaming on diet-related outcomes in children-A systematic review. Obes Rev. 2022 Jun;23(6):e13441. doi: 10.1111/obr.13441. Epub 2022 Mar 17. PMID: 35301815; PMCID: PMC9286387.