Leon joins sugar tax movement

The fast food chain announced that it will be introducing a 10p levy on all drinks containing added sugar from September 17th.

The move follows after Jamie Oliver and Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, launched a petition calling on the government to introduce a tax on all sugary drinks.

“We know that adding the 10p ‘sugar tax’ to drinks at Leon will not only help people to make healthy choices, it will also help to improve the damage that has already been done. We estimate that we will raise £50,000 over the next year with the added charge,” the company said.

“All money will be donated to The Children’s Health Fund, set up by Jamie and Sustain to improve the health and food education of children in the UK.”

Leon cofounder John Vincent said, “Soft drinks brands spend a lot of money convincing us that their drinks are cool. What’s actually cool is that this levy can help redress the damage done by the average 21 teaspoons of sugar a child consumes a day. What’s cool is that this will start a debate about the best way to protect children from the damage that grownups are doing to them.”

“The responses I got made it clear to me that we need to take the sugar crisis into our own hands. I’m excited for the change that Leon and Jamie can bring about, and I hope we are the first of many restaurants to join him.”