Tesco is the latest national supermarket to join the campaign by launching a ‘Best of British’ section to its website – visit their British seasonal produce page.
Other supermarkets who have taken up the call to back Britain’s farmers include:
- Waitrose's British section
- The Co-op's Best of British page
- Sainsbury’s Best of British page
- Morrisons’ ‘British’ section
- Aldi's ‘Best of British’ category
- Ocado Retail's Best of British aisle
The move follows an open letter written by Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans to the chief executives of eight major supermarkets asking for a filter which would direct shoppers to homegrown food to help boost the economy and cut the UK’s carbon footprint.
The letter was was co-signed by 126 cross-party MPs, and echoed a long-standing NFU ask dating back to 2016.
Tesco's Chief Commercial officer, Ashwin Prasad said: “Supporting British farmers, growers and suppliers remains critical to ensuring we have a robust food industry here in the UK, and we count ourselves as proud champions of British agriculture, striving to source produce from the UK wherever possible.”
“Our customers share our love for British produce, and we want to do all we can to make it as easy to find as possible, no matter how they shop with us, so we’re thrilled to be launching our Best of British page on our groceries website, bringing together over 500 quality, affordable British products to choose from.”
Simple but effective change
NFU Deputy President David Exwood said: “It’s brilliant to see Tesco follow six other supermarkets’ lead to add a buy British section on their website. Not only does this help support Dr Luke Evans’ fantastic campaign to help back British farmers and growers, but it also offers shoppers a direct way to support their local farms and buy homegrown produce.
"We know from our own independent research that the public want to buy more British food from retailers and that’s why we have been championing this important issue since 2016."
“We know from our own independent research that the public wants to buy more British food from retailers.”
NFU Deputy President David Exwood
Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Bosworth, said “I’m pleased to welcome Tesco to the fray. It’s great to see the UK’s largest supermarket join other major retailers in implementing an online ‘Buy British’ section which will support our farmers and give consumers greater choice.
“This is really welcome news and a step forward in supporting our nation’s food growers and producers by showcasing over 500 homegrown items, with everything from meat and vegetables to dairy products now easier to find on the ‘Best of British’ tab.”
Show your support
Following repeated calls from the NFU and more than 27,000 members of the public, the former Defra Secretary of State Thérèse Coffey announced her support on Back British Farming Day for signposting customers to ‘buy British’ when they shop online.
The campaign featured in the NFU’s British Food: Leading the Way report in 2021.
The Conservative Environment Network has also backed the ‘Buy British’ button in their farming manifesto and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also lent his support to the campaign and called for industry-led action: “We will continue to encourage all retailers to do all they can to showcase the incredible food produced right here, in the United Kingdom.”
If you agree this is a good idea, add your name to show all supermarkets that shoppers want the option to buy British food online.
A ‘small change’ to back the nation’s farmers
Open letter signatories to Dr Evans’ letter included former Defra Secretary Theresa Villiers, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, Climate Minister Graham Stuart and members of the Commons’ Efra Committee.
The letter was signed by representatives from all the main political parties in England and Wales. It said that the “small change” would give “customers greater autonomy over their food choices” and could boost seasonal eating.
“It is often tricky to determine what products are produced in the UK and this simple change would help shoppers do that."
Former NFU President Minette Batters
Former NFU President Minette Batters said “it’s great to see MPs and their constituents getting behind the idea of a ‘buy British tab’ online”.
“We know from our own independent survey that 86% of the public want to buy more British food, but it is often tricky to determine what products are produced in the UK and this simple change would help shoppers do that.”
Online food labelling – the story so far
Tesco is seventh retailer to join the campaign
Tesco is the latest national supermarket to join the campaign by launching a ‘Best of British’ section to its website – visit their British seasonal produce page.
Tesco's Chief Commercial officer, Ashwin Prasad said: “Supporting British farmers, growers and suppliers remains critical to ensuring we have a robust food industry here in the UK, and we count ourselves as proud champions of British agriculture, striving to source produce from the UK wherever possible.”
“Our customers share our love for British produce, and we want to do all we can to make it as easy to find as possible, no matter how they shop with us, so we’re thrilled to be launching our Best of British page on our groceries website, bringing together over 500 quality, affordable British products to choose from.”
Waitrose and the Co-op are latest to join the campaign
Waitrose and the Co-op have launched 'Best of British' sections online, becoming the latest national supermarkets to back Britain's farmers.
Co-op Propositions Director Adele Balmforth said: “As a member-owned organisation, we know food provenance really matters to our member owners, and we continue our longstanding support for British farmers, growers and local suppliers, championing home-grown produce, protein and products.”
Ms Balmforth added that the Best of British page will make it easier for customers to buy British and support local livelihoods.
Meanwhile Waitrose has also added a ‘Best of British’ section to Waitrose.com, which a spokesperson said the supermarket would look to expand if it proved successful with customers.
Ocado Retail launches Best of British aisle
Ocado's new aisle showcases more than 800 British products including fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs and dairy products.
Amit Chitnis, Chief Commercial Officer at Ocado Retail, said: “Our Best of British aisle comes in response to rising demand from our customers for more homegrown produce.
“Where we can, we will always try to source locally as our first choice whenever possible. So, we’re proud to have gathered a range of over 800 quality products that are British all year round in an easy-to-shop aisle on site spanning fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs and dairy.”
Sainsbury's reveals 'Best of British' page
Sainsbury's new page spotlights more than 450 100% British sourced grocery products and also provides a range of recipes using British products.
Simon Roberts, Chief Executive Officer at Sainsbury’s, said: “Many of our customers want to support British suppliers and make more conscious choices when doing their food shop, and our new Buy British webpage helps them to do just that through a curation of over 450 quality, 100% locally sourced products.
“We recognise the pressures that British farmers are facing and the importance of supporting them to maintain a resilient UK food system for the long term. Our relationships with farmers and suppliers are incredibly important to us and we remain committed to sourcing British as much as we can, now and in the future.”
Aldi launches 'Best of British' online section
Aldi Chief Executive Giles Hurley wrote to Dr Luke Evans MP to confirm the implementation of “a standalone ‘Best of British’ category on our website to showcase our incredible British products”.
First supermarket responds to the call for a 'Buy British' section
Morrisons are the first supermarket to implement the ‘Buy British’ section online in response to Dr Evans’ open letter.
Morrisons Chief Executive Rami Baitiéh said: “As a longstanding supporter of British farming, we are delighted to make this change to our website and hope that it leads to more British products in our customers’ baskets.”
Government endorses Buy British option
At the NFU's Back British Farming day reception, Thérèse Coffey announced support for a ‘buy British button’ for online supermarket shopping.
The news comes as more than 27,000 members of the public add their names to the NFU's call asking whether it's a good idea to have a 'Buy British' button on supermarket online shopping sites.
Dr Luke Evans MP takes the lead
The NFU briefed Dr Luke Evans about online labelling. The campaign has since gathered more than 120 signatories.
NFU launches British Food: Leading the Way report
In our British Food: Leading the Way report NFU President Minette Batters called for “an improved way for customers to choose the origin of product when shopping online” – such as a 'Buy British' button or filter for online food purchases.
During February 2022, we also launched our British Farming: A Blueprint for the Future report where we called on the government to “support for an improved way for customers to choose the origin of product when shopping online – such as a “Buy British” button or filter for online food purchases”.
MPs are briefed
The NFU briefed MPs on online shopping and labelling and asked for the same level of origin labelling on products online as can be found in-store.
YouGov survey reveals public support for more labelling information online
The NFU commissioned a survey by YouGov that revealed 81% of UK adults think that online food retailers should provide the same amount of information about the product’s country of origin on the website as there is on the food packaging in store.
Other key findings include:
- Around 64% said they would find it helpful to have the option to view British online produce when sopping online
- Most consider the 'Country of Origin' labelling information to be clear on certain products – namely milk, cheese and eggs – but find it less clear when displayed for processed products
- 64% said they look out for British produce when shopping
Buy British filter debated in Westminster
There was a Westminster hall debate on ‘Food labelling’ where Rebecca Pow echoed our asks to Defra Minister George Eustice: “Could consideration be given to a button to press when doing an online shop to enable people to choose from just British produce?"
George Eustice responded: “We are discussing that with the National Farmers Union.”
MPs kick off discussions
The NFU briefed MPs on online labelling and made recommendations including a filter which would give online customers the ability to select British through a button.
The campaign begins
The NFU launches an online labelling campaign to allow shoppers to be able to identify British food more easily when doing their online food shop.
