The UK's largest retailer Tesco has introduced a brand new range of plasters that will match multiple skin colours and better advocate racial diversity. The own-brand fabric plasters will go on sale in all 741 Tesco stores nationwide. The product was developed after a staff member spotted a now-viral tweet when a black American man described his emotional response when he first used a plaster that matched his skin tone.
The thread, which now has over 500,000 likes, also attracted multiple celebrities including John Boyega. After the product idea was brought to the attention of senior Tesco team members, the development of the product was supported by the BAME within the staff network. They helped test and gave inputs on the final design.
Chair of the network, Paulette Balson said, “No UK supermarket had ever stocked plasters in a range of skin tones before and we saw this as an opportunity for Tesco to lead the charge and make a genuine difference. Through our research, we know how emotive a product like this can be. For example, one colleague reported that their child had felt self-conscious wearing a plaster on their face to school recently, because it didn’t match their skin tone and stood out.”
Meanwhile, Nicola Robinson, health, beauty and wellness director at Tesco, said, “As one of the largest retailers in the UK, we understand that we have a responsibility to ensure our products reflect the diversity of our customers and colleagues. We believe the launch of our new skin tone plaster range is an important step and a move that we hope will be replicated by other retailers and supermarkets across the country.”
