Asda has announced that it will offer all its customers a free warming breakfast porridge and a hot drink.
The initiative is open to all ages and will run until 20th March daily from 8am to 12pm, in the retailers 205 Asda Cafés – including 5 in Northern Ireland.
The partnership with Quaker will allow customers to enjoy a free bowl of porridge along with a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate, to warm up during the UK’s cold winter weather.
The new free breakfast initiative is now one of four that are live in Asda Café’s, alongside the popular Kids Eat for £1 which has served over 3.1 million meals since its launch in June 2022 and will continue support families are across the school holidays.
The £1 Winter Warmers initiative for our over 60s is available until the end of February offering Soup, a Roll and a hot drink and have served over 350,000 since November. The retailer also offers local community groups the ‘community cuppa’ which offers community groups a warm and free place to meet with a free hot drink.
The move comes as Asda’s latest Income Tracker reveals that despite positive improvements, disposable income remains firmly down on the values witnessed prior to the cost-of-living crisis. Compared to the peak of £246 in Q1 2021, UK-wide disposable income has fallen by 9.1%.
Already shoppers have taken to social media (Facebook) to praise the initiative, calling it a 'brilliant idea'. One wrote on Facebook: "Well done Asda. It's a great idea. A lot of people will be very grateful."
Kris Comerford, Asda’s Chief Commercial Officer said:
“We know that at this time of year, customers feel an additional strain on household budgets, especially with the colder weather. Building on our successful collaboration with Quaker in 2023, we’re partnering with the brand once again to demonstrate our support for customers and help to alleviate some of the pressures they face through rising living costs.
"In addition to our popular Kids eat for £1 and the over 60s Winter Warmers £1 Soup and Roll café meals, all our customers can now enjoy a free bowl of porridge and hot drink in over 205 Asda cafes†. By bringing back the initiative in 2024 we hope it will prove to be impactful across the winter months for those who need it most.”
Divesh Parmar, Quaker UK General Manager at PepsiCo, comments:
“One in four children are at risk of food security in the UK, and as temperatures drop over winter, we know the very real impact of hunger increases.
"Collaborating closely with retail partners is vital in ensuring shoppers have access to a warm breakfast, so we’re delighted to be taking our partnership with Asda even further this year†. We’re also doubling down with our wider support for those most in need, issuing temperature dynamic coupons‡ and bringing back our Share the Warmth on-pack promotion.
"Our donations of up to 3 million warm breakfasts means we can continue to do our bit in supporting the great work of our charity partners, FareShare and Magic Breakfast.”
Alongside the free breakfast for customers, for every one bowl served, Quaker will be donate ten breakfasts to FareShare.
To support Quaker’s Share the Warmth campaign to donate three million warm breakfasts, customers simply need to pick up a limited edition Share the Warmth pack of Quaker this winter, and the brand will donate a breakfast to Fareshare or Magic Breakfast.
Those looking to find more information on the Quaker donations in partnership with Magic Breakfast and FareShare can visit www.quaker.co.uk/ShareTheWarmth
Asda Cafés in Northern Ireland are located in Asda stores including Antrim, Portadown, Coleraine, Enniskillen and Strabane.