New research examining retail scanner data from 71 stores finds that Berkeley’s pioneering ban on sugary products at checkout lanes reduced soda and small-packaged candy sales.
A healthy checkout ordinance introduced in Berkeley, California, has been linked to lower sales of soda and small-packaged candy, according to a new study published in The Lancet Public Health. The researchers say the findings suggest that restricting the placement of sugary products can influence purchasing behaviour, but stronger enforcement and broader measures may be needed to achieve sustained reductions in consumption.
Berkeley became the first city in the world to ban the display of sugary drinks and snacks in checkout lanes in March 2021. The policy targeted an area of stores where products such as candy, chocolate and soda are commonly positioned to encourage impulse purchases. The ordinance became enforceable on 1 January 2022.
The study, led by researchers at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), examined retail scanner data from 71 stores in Berkeley and comparison cities Davis, Oakland and Sacramento. The analysis covered quarterly sales between March 2019 and December 2023, allowing the researchers to compare purchasing patterns before and after the policy was introduced and enforced.
Soda sales fall as compliance increases
The researchers found that soda sales decreased substantially after the healthy checkout ordinance was implemented and enforced. Sales of small-packaged candy also fell significantly in supermarkets after enforcement began, although total candy sales did not decline.
The effect varied between store types. Supermarkets had some of the highest levels of compliance and recorded the greatest reductions in sugary products. Drug stores, which complied least with the ordinance, did not see reductions in candy or soda sales.
Dr Justin White, Associate Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management at BUSPH and study co-lead author, says checkout lanes are deliberately designed to attract shoppers’ attention to high-sugar products through “bright lighting, colourful packaging and eye-level placement”. The findings suggest healthy checkout policies can reduce people purchasing things on impulse and encourage healthier snack choices. However, Dr White says cities need to “actively enforce these policies” to achieve meaningful and sustained reductions in sugary product sales.
Through bright lighting, colourful packaging and eye-level placement, checkout lanes are intentionally designed to draw shoppers’ attention to snacks and beverages with high added sugar.”
Dr Justin White, Associate Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management at BUSPH
The researchers also found that overall candy sales increased moderately after the policy was introduced, although this increase was not sustained after enforcement. Sales of healthier lower-sugar products, including snack-sized nuts and seeds, also increased.
Moving beyond checkout lanes
The findings build on previous research examining Berkeley’s checkout policy, which found that the amount of added sugar in foods and drinks displayed at checkout fell by 70 percent during the first year after implementation.
However, the latest study highlights a limitation of focusing solely on checkout locations. The ordinance does not prevent retailers from moving sugary products elsewhere in stores or featuring them in seasonal promotions.
Dr Jennifer Falbe, senior and corresponding author of the study and Associate Professor of Nutrition and Human Development at UC Davis, said checkout policies should form part of a wider approach to improving diets.
No single policy alone can address the problems with our food system, however, expanding healthy checkout policies to cover other prime locations and pairing this policy with evidence-based strategies like mandatory front-of-package labeling, sweetened-beverage excise taxes, and subsidies for healthy foods, could improve diet quality.”
Dr Jennifer Falbe, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Human Development, University of California, Davis
The researchers say the findings could inform other jurisdictions considering similar restrictions on the placement of sugary foods and drinks. The study also points to the importance of enforcement when assessing whether food retail policies translate into changes in consumer behaviour.
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