In 2005, 18% of 2–15 year-olds in the UK were classified as obese. Experts predict this will reach 25% in 40 years (Department of Health). Active Kids was developed to help combat childhood obesity by enabling customers to collect vouchers when they spend in-store. These are donated to a chosen school and redeemed for free sports equipment and experiences.Active Kids is gaining fresh momentum and awareness each year. Sainsbury’s long-term commitment means we evaluate and refresh the campaign content continually. This ensures ongoing relevance and that the needs of parents, teachers and kids are all met.

Over 3 years, Active Kids has donated £54m of equipment and experiences. This has tripled schools’ annual P.E. budget. £18m was donated in 2007 and AK08 is set to beat that. Participation continues to grow with registration increasing by 29% and equipment orders growing by 12% in 2007. As a result 53% of teachers believe that children’s attitude towards sport is more positive. After the introduction of the Active Kids campaign, Sainsbury’s posted 12 consecutive quarters of like-for-like sales growth. With Sainsbury’s ready to commit to the campaign until 2012, the future of Active Kids is looking healthy, too.