The campaign which Henry Smith MP supports for a ‘Buy British’ section on supermarkets’ online stores has seen further success as Aldi launches a ‘Best of British’ section for click and collect shoppers.
Henry said;
“It’s great to see Aldi have made this small but meaningful change and put our farmers first.
“The reaction to this campaign has been overwhelmingly positive, with food producers across the United Kingdom supporting the call and consumers asking why supermarkets weren’t doing it already.
“I trust other supermarkets will make the change soon too to back British produce.”
In August 2023, the Crawley MP and more than 100 other parliamentarians signed an open letter calling on supermarkets to highlight the very best of British produce by implementing a ‘Buy British’ section online.
The letter, written by Bosworth MP Dr Luke Evans, stated ‘Our ask is simple, create a tab that collates produce from farmers,’ citing consumer choice, environmental benefits and support for farmers as reasons to make the change.
The Chief Executive of Aldi, Giles Hurley, has confirmed the implementation of ‘a standalone ‘Best of British’ category on our website to showcase our incredible British products.’
The UK’s fourth largest supermarket’s new dedicated webpage includes a wide selection of over 250 groceries, ranging from meat to dairy products and everyday essentials, and can be found on the Aldi website for click and collect shoppers.
Since Henry Smith MP signed the open letter over 30,000 people have signed a National Farmers’ Union (NFU) petition in support, the Government endorsed the campaign and Morrisons also launched a ‘British’ section online.
Dr Luke Evans MP commented;
“I’m really pleased to see Aldi have reiterated their commitment to support our farmers by making it even easier for consumers to buy British produce online.
“Aldi have rightly recognised the importance of supporting our food growers and producers by putting the new ‘Best of British’ section right at the top of their webpage!
“When I speak to farmers they say the best thing we can do to support them is buy homegrown food, this is another step in the right direction and I look forward to seeing other supermarkets follow in their footsteps.”
The Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, Julie Ashfield, added;
“Our Best of British webpage aims to give our customers the chance to navigate British products more easily whilst supporting the thousands of local suppliers that we work with.
“We are proud to champion so many British suppliers and they are at the heart of our success, allowing us to offer our customers great British quality at the best possible prices.”
The President of the National Farmers’ Union, Minette Batters, commented;
“It’s fantastic that Aldi is championing British farmers by introducing a ‘Best of British’ section online. Recent data shows that most shoppers want to buy more British food and this simple change will help Aldi customers locate high quality, homegrown food much more easily.
“We now have two major retailers in Aldi and Morrisons adapting their online service to support both their suppliers and customers. Dr Luke Evans has been instrumental in driving this campaign forwards and thanks to his tireless efforts alongside the NFU I hope even more retailers will follow suit.”
