Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation will be the joint corporate partners of Tesco from January next year, in an arrangement expected to raise millions of pounds for both charities.
The new partnership, described as a ‘first-of-a-kind’, will see the money raised by the supermarket chain’s staff and customers split equally between the two charities.
Diabetes UK is currently the sole corporate partner of Tesco, in a partnership announced early last year. It was announced in July that £12m has been raised so far and the partnership was being extended to December with a fundraising target to raise a total of £18m.
A fundraising target is not yet being put on the new partnership and more details will be announced early next year, a BHF spokeswoman said.
The partners said in a statement only that it "aims to raise millions of pounds to promote healthy living".
Tesco employees and customers have raised more than £30m for charities over the last three years.
The partnership aims to raise awareness about the health effects of unhealthy cooking and eating habits. The spokeswoman said BHF was chosen to join the partnership because “joining up will allow us to reach more people in a comprehensive way”.
The partnership aims to reduce the risk of both Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease by encouraging healthy eating and cooking habits, including making it easier to choose food lower in sugar, saturated fats and salt.
A spokeswoman for Diabetes UK said the new partnership was part of the charity's "ongoing relationship" with Tesco and the supermarket chain would continue to support projects such as Living with Diabetes Days.
Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “We have already been working with Tesco over the last 18 months and it is really exciting to be continuing working with them and our new partner, the British Heart Foundation, to make a real impact on reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
“This innovative partnership with Tesco’s reach and focus on food and the combined expertise of the two charities backed up by real resources is an important contribution to helping families across the UK.”
Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: “We know that eating a healthy, balanced diet and increasing levels of physical activity can cut your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This ground-breaking partnership is a fantastic way to get healthy lifestyle messages to millions of people across the UK.”
Greg Sage, community director at Tesco, said: “Using our collective scale and expertise, we’re going to make a real and positive difference to millions of customers’ lives.”
