Sainsbury’s has signed new 10-year partnerships with UK producers Evesham Vale Growers and Thanet Earth to secure a steady supply of British tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers on its shelves all year round
Sainsbury’s is set to boost supplies of British tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers amid growing concerns over drought conditions threatening crops imported from overseas.
The UK’s second largest supermarket has struck new 10-year partnerships with British producers Evesham Vale Growers and Thanet Earth to guarantee a consistent supply of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers on its shelves.
These products have previously been hard hit by weather-related disruptions.
In early 2023, supermarkets placed limits of three on packs of tomatoes, as well as cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, salad bags and some vegetables after a combination of poor weather and associated transport issues in north Africa and Europe triggered widespread shortages across UK shelves.
Sainsbury’s said that British-grown tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers were already a key part of its salad range for customers, but extreme weather across warmer growing regions had highlighted the urgent need for supermarkets to rethink how they develop more resilient supply chains.
The retailer said it hoped its long-term deal with Thanet Earth would extend the availability of British cucumbers beyond the summer season and into the winter months for the first time, having traditionally relied more heavily on imports during that period. The new British winter crop will be cultivated at Thanet Earth in Kent, the UK’s largest single site glasshouse complex, where supplementary lighting, heat, and CO2 are carefully managed to replicate the conditions cucumber plants require to continue thriving throughout the darkest months of the year.
The benefits of the agreements are set to appear on supermarket shelves as early as this summer, with the launch of the new Taste the Difference British Salad Selection 800g box.
Hannah O’Reilly, category director of produce at Sainsbury’s, said: “With our changing weather, it’s more important than ever to find new, innovative solutions to make sure our customers can continue to enjoy the quality produce they want all year-round.
“Investing in more British production and supporting our suppliers to innovate is helping us build a stronger, more resilient supply chain in a category that has been impacted by weather-based shocks in recent years.
“By giving our brilliant British growers the certainty to invest and innovate through long-term contracts such as these with Thanet Earth and Evesham Vale Growers will help us to continue to support British farming for years to come.”
Rob James, technical director at Thanet Earth, said: “Working with Sainsbury’s in this way means we can plan ahead with more certainty and keep pushing what’s possible for British growing.
“A good example is our investment in the technology needed to grow cucumbers through the winter, creating the right conditions for the crop and helping bring more British-grown produce to customers at a time of year when that has not previously been possible.”
