To be really annoyed you can't get points on formula?

[Jengnr]

Due to 'Government legislation'

How about the Government fuck off? I've made the decision (actually, it was made for me but that's neither here nor there), I'm spending the bloody money, why should I not be able to collect advantage points on that?

Wankers.

It is utterly wrong.

I think that infant nutrition is special, formula is a necessity if you are not breastfeeding. It should be protected from commercial pressures such as advertising and promotion. It should have a clear, easy to compare unit price.
Why is that "utterly wrong" polkadot? It's not about formula being bad, or breast milk being better - it's about allowing ff mothers to make an informed choice about which formula to buy and where to buy it from without biased advertising (eg aptamil being "closer to bm" when it's the same as cow and gate) or confusing prices.

Tara that has zero to do with getting points you are entitled too. If you're buying formula you're buying formula.I used to buy a tin a week- no more no less,all much of a muchness- there is no logical reason why mothers shouldn't have the points.You need a tin a week you need a tin a week-having your entitled points doesn't change anything.

Just curious, how much does formula usually cost per a week?

Also it seems a bit strange that they wont give points to encourage breast feeding - surely by the time you're buying formula to find this out you aren't going to be breast feeding anyway.
And same with putting it on offer, breast milk is free, so theres no incentive to FF cost wise by offers etc as it's never going to be cheaper
Seems like a sneaky way for them to gain more money on it by using that as excuses really

Marketing activities have two impacts on price. Firstly the marketing spend can simply increase the price of the product, since obviously that advertising has to be paid for. Secondly, advertisers would argue that by advertising, say, BMWs they sell more BMWs, which results in higher sales and so economies of scale, and therefore a lower overall price.

Obviously if more formula were to be sold, that would cost parents more money, since breastfeeding is free and formula £££, so the second argument, increasing the total sales of infant formula, is not a good one. And the other impact, higher prices, is clearly not what is wanted either.

Frankly the best thing that could be done to reduce costs is generic packaging and banning the promotion of follow-on milks. Marketing spend on follow-on milks is done in order to promote the brand name shared with the infant formula (which they cannot legally). Since follow-on milks are cheaper than first milks, it's clear that consumers of infant formula are paying the cost of this advertising, even though it's supposedly illegal to promote formula.

E.g., this advert:

which makes numerous references to breastmilk and features a young helpless baby who should be getting the majority of his calories from breastmilk and which claims to be promoting this product:

img.tesco.com/Groceries/pi/317/5000378998317/IDShot_225x225.jpg

even though this product sells in much higher volumes and comes in almost identical packaging:

img.tesco.com/Groceries/pi/270/5000378998270/IDShot_225x225.jpg

(but cannot be advertised)

It's like cigarette companies circumventing a ban on cigarette advertising by spending millions of pounds promoting Marlboro candy cigarettes.

I disagree it is very difficult to attach a financial value to the points. I just used clubcard vouchers to get longleat tickets, they were two for £16 of clubcard vouchers when normally they would be £50... But I could have used them at Christmas on the clubcard exchange and got 3 times their face value...or I could just use them in store.. How does the retailer know which offer you are going to use?

polka I don't understand why you don't think my argument applies to points? They are a promotional tool too? They would factor into the "choice" of where to buy formula and make it harder to work out which retailer was truly better value.

Tbh, I don't think points are that bigger deal, I just think its like turkeys voting for Christmas because for the reasons I've mentioned above I think it would lead to higher retailer markups (prices).

They don't promote if you never change.Mums don't chop and change.Also loyalty points are for a whole shop so any brand would get the same and most shops stock all brands.Nothing is being promoted above the other.Perfectly possible to work out real value,my 8 year old could do it.

What's the financial value of one tesco clubcard point then? Or one boots point? Not what you need to spend them but what you can actually get with them?

And do you mean people don't chop and change brands (understandable) or shops, because if its shops then no wonder the price is so high if no one is shopping around. I'm talking about competition between tesco and boots not sma and c&g.

All those sayings its not fair. The reason we have these rules and they are recomended by WHO is because the formula companies have been and continue to be unscrupulous bastards.

If formula companies acted ethically in the first place there would be no need for legislation so your gripe should be with the formula companies whose behaviour has meant these policies are needed and because they over charge for their product.

Ultimately the behaviour of formula companies has led to the deaths of babies where they undermine bfeeding and mothers then dont have access to clean water, or cant afford the milk. In the big scheme of things not being able to get points on formula is really not a big deal. We can still buy it and we have the facilities to make it safely. We can also still get points on bottles, teats, sterilisers etc etc just not the milk itself.

It is a big deal it is unfair and actually insulting.

I do understand it's irksome not to get points on some things instead of others.

But from what I understand it's like this:

Loyalty points on formula (which might ultimately add up to a free pack of babywipes every week or two) are being sacrificed, based on a blanket WHO policy, in order to protect some very vulnerable mothers & babies who have been targeted by unscrupulous formula companies.

I think that's a sacrifice I can live with..... (but accept that sometimes people can get irked by a small dent in their own pockets, rather than giving themselves a pat on the back that their lack of loyalty points is, in a roundabout way, benefitting people with life-or-death vulnerabilities in 3rd World countries).

At the end of the day, if loyalty points were allowed, the retailers would make their money back by upping the prices of other products, surely? If they don't screw you one way, they'll sure as hell find a way of screwing you some other way

YANBU. I hate the idea that you should be punished for feeding your baby formula. (Even if its only a few points)

Someone said that banning formula advertising in Scandinavia increased bf rates. I bet that ban wasn't isolated and teamed with a massive positive campaign for bf and good support for new Mums.

I honestly don't believe that not giving points will make a jot of difference to a single person.

I demand tax relief for using my norks for four DCs....

It makes buggar all difference to African mothers,buggar all.

Shops control their points system. Mums don't change brand and buy generally where they do their main shop.Perfectly possible for shops to give points in the UK without it making a jot of difference to mums in Africa,perfectly possible.

Why is it unfair and insulting?

I have bfed and also formula fed, my dd is 25mths and still has 5oz of formula before bed, I buy hipp as they are slightly less unethical than other companies, she also has first milk still as follow on mils are an advertising con. I front give a shi that I don't get points on the formula as I can see the importance of legislation to help stop formula companies beimg unethical bastards.

You don't give a shit,plenty do.

You do all realise that they don't actually have to give you points at all? 'Tis just an artful marketing gimmick that they use the data from to target products? It's just a Brucey Bonus

walks off whistling

No I don't give a shit especially as none of us are entitled to points on anything, they are a marketing tool and a gimmick used by stores to get your custom, we all pay for them one way or another the stores want to make a profit end off, they don't do it to be nice!

Yep a Brucey Bonus that will make a difference when you're on maternity leave and shelling out a small fortune in milk,nappies,equipment etc whilst not earning a lot.

It also has naughty school girl connotations- not nice.

Low income families can get vouchers for free/low cost formula. It may make a difference but its not massive and no one is entitled to it and the legislation is there for a reason and the more countries that sign up to it the better to help send a message to the formula countries that they need yo change the way they operate.

No it is pointless.

Yes restrict advertising but banning bonus points on one item in a shopping basket is unfair and nanny state gone mad.

I think if its part of the WHO guidelines as lambzig say its probably to do with some of the awful behaviour of some of the formula manufacturers in developing countries, particularly those without widespread clean water or sanitation facilities, this has probably just had a knock on effect on UK legislation.
I was really cross about it when I was ff my ds but if that's why then ita more understandable.