{"id":23126,"date":"2025-02-14T12:20:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T12:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/parents-should-be-able-to-use-supermarket-loyalty-points\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T12:20:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T12:20:20","slug":"parents-should-be-able-to-use-supermarket-loyalty-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/parents-should-be-able-to-use-supermarket-loyalty-points\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents should be able to use supermarket loyalty points"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Tom Espiner<\/span><\/p>\n

BBC business reporter<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Parents should be allowed to buy baby milk in supermarkets using loyalty points and vouchers, the competition regulator has said following a probe into the market.<\/p>\n

Restrictions on price promotions and discounts on formula should stay in place so mothers are not discouraged from breastfeeding, it said. <\/p>\n

But people should be allowed to use points, gift cards and vouchers to get the most for their money, its chief executive told the BBC.<\/p>\n

Parents could save up to \u00a3540 a year by switching between baby milk formula brands, it added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Consumer campaign group Which? has compared different formulas, and says the core nutrients “are very similar”.<\/p>\n

“Some baby-formula manufacturers increasingly market their product as superior in quality, or containing extra or special ingredients,” it said in its comparison<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“But such marketing claims should be treated with scepticism.<\/p>\n

“This is because all infant formula sold in the UK is legally required to meet the same standards, so all will meet your baby’s nutritional needs – irrespective of brand, price or claims about ingredients.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘You go for the best you can’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n

Samantha Knaggs is a 35-year-old mum and home-maker in Hull.<\/p>\n

She breastfed her previous two babies, but is giving her third formula milk because she is now on anti-convulsant medication.<\/p>\n

Being able to use loyalty card points if she could choose which baby milk to go for would be “ideal” she said.<\/p>\n

While the cost of baby milk doesn’t put pressure on her finances, she has known mothers who went to food banks to have enough money to buy formula.<\/p>\n

If it had been made clear to her that all baby milk formulas provide the right nutrients for babies, she may have gone for a cheaper brand.<\/p>\n

But part of the reason she uses the brand she chose is because it’s widely available, and has a bit of nervousness about giving her baby boy a different one, in case he has a reaction.<\/p>\n

“You go for the best you can get when it’s your baby,” she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The regulator’s key recommendations are:<\/p>\n