Superdrug reduces price of own brand suncare Solait as retailer recognises sun protection as a healthcare essential

• 41 products reduced to help families afford sun care summer, as pressure increases on the government to remove VAT
• Suncare prices frozen until the end of year, so consumers can continue to protect for as little as £2.79 
• Melanoma Focus and Beauty Banks welcome the news, as skin cancer cases rise and consumers say they can no longer afford to protect

Leading accessible health and beauty retailer, Superdrug, has announced that it is reducing the price of its Own Brand suncare range Solait by 20 percent. The announcement comes after months of rising pressure on the government to remove the VAT on suncare, as the category should be deemed a healthcare essential and not a beauty product.

The reduction will come into effect across 41 products from today (Wednesday 31^st May) and remain in place until the end of the year, ensuring that families have access to affordable sun protection amid the cost of living crisis.

Superdrug’s Own Brand Director, Jamie Archer, says: “As a leading accessible health and beauty retailer, we believe that everyone should have access to the products that protect their health and wellbeing and at an affordable price. Sunscreen is currently classed as a cosmetic product and therefore carries the VAT associated with it, making it unaffordable for some people. Through our work with Beauty Banks we know that requests for donations of sun care products has gone up, with some people even having to forego it altogether, which is concerning to hear.  We hope that by reducing the price of our Solait range we can help make sun protection more affordable and allow families to stay safe in the sun.”  

The 20 percent saving on products means families will be able to protect both adults and children with SPF50 for just over £6, with the Solait Sun Cream SPF50 (200ml) reduced to £3.59 and the Solait kid’s roll-on sun cream SPF50+ (75ml) reduced to £2.79.

Charity Melanoma Focus is calling on the Government to remove the Value Added Tax (VAT) for high-factor sunscreens to reduce the cost of this vital product for the general population, making it more accessible to those who cannot afford it.

Susanna Daniels, CEO of Melanoma Focus said: “We’re delighted to hear that Superdrug plans to remove the 20 percent VAT cost for customers from their own brand sunscreen range. Skin cancer, particularly melanoma skin cancer, is an extremely serious and growing issue. It is now the 5th most common cancer in the UK killing around 2,300 people each year. 86 percent of melanomas are preventable and therefore, wearing a high SPF sunscreen is a hugely important safety measure for protecting against it. Anything we can do to make sunscreen more accessible and affordable will cut the overall incidence of skin cancer and could help save lives. This move by Superdrug is a big step in the right direction and a brilliant start to our mission to have VAT removed from all high-factor sunscreens across the UK.”

The charity commissioned a UK-wide survey this year which showed that 1 in 10 people across the UK aren’t wearing sunscreen because it is too expensive and people on the very lowest incomes are less likely to wear sunscreen than any other economic group.

Skin cancer affects people from all economic backgrounds but, as with many cancers, has a link with poverty. Around 4,000 cases of melanoma skin cancer each year in England are linked with lower deprivation^[1]. This increases to around 25,000 when including non-melanoma skin cancer cases^[2].

Superdrug’s partner Beauty Banks reported an 80% increase in demand for services last year and it is believed that around 15 million people were living in poverty in the UK^[3] in 2022 and due to the challenging climate, this figure could now be even higher.

Beauty Banks Founder, Jo Jones, says: “It’s unthinkable that a child’s short term and long term health is at risk because their family can’t afford sun protection. This move by Superdrug is a great one and we hope other retailers follow their example.”

The products across the Solait range includes SPF protection for adults and children in a range of factors and formats. The Solait range is vegan and cruelty-free and is specially formulated with a combination of broad-spectrum sunscreens to help protect against UVA and UVB rays, with many products carrying the five-star UVA protection rating.

^[1] Around 2,000 in females and around 2,000 in males. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/melanoma-skin-cancer#heading-Zero

^[2] Around 10,800 in females and around 14,200 in males. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/non-melanoma-skin-cancer#heading-Zero

^[3] Joseph Rowntree Foundation – https://www.jrf.org.uk/press/jrf-annual-figures-show-unacceptable-increase-poverty#:~:text=The%20latest%20figures%20show%20that,adults%20and%202.1%20million%20pensioners.