Fresh foods is the focus for Tesco, or so its new marketing campaign will say this weekend.

Fresh foods is the focus for Tesco, or so its new marketing campaign will say this weekend.

The grocer is understood to have been working on the activity since last year so the campaign has not come in response to the horse meat scandal. However, post-horse meat, it is perhaps more needed now than ever.

Tesco has been making progress in food since chief Philip Clarke unveiled his UK turnaround plan but fresh is an area where it has struggled and needs fresh impetus.

For many years now the grocery war has been all about price. Whether it’s Tesco’s Price Promise or Asda’s Price Guarantee or Sainsbury’s Brand Match, they have all been fighting to prove they are the best value.

So now the battleground seems to be moving to other areas. If customers are confident that they are getting good value in all of the grocers, then those supermarkets need to offer other reasons for shoppers to come to them.

So for Tesco, it clearly believes fresh food is the next war. Many of its rivals have good fresh food credentials already so it definitely has a fight on its hands.

But with the changes it has already made to the UK business in areas such as product and service mean it is now ready to take this fight on.

Fresh foods is a big challenge and it will take some time to win over customers who have previously had a bad experience. The grocer is hoping for a fresh start and its rivals will be readying for the war.