New ten-year partnerships with Evesham Vale Growers and Thanet Earth will reportedly see more tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers on Sainsbury’s shelves. The retailer said that “extreme weather” across warmer growing regions was underlining the need for supermarkets to think differently about how they build more resilient supply chains.
It said that innovation within these categories had become a “key part” of the solution to increasing the availability of produce year round.
Through its new long-term agreement with Thanet Earth, Sainsbury’s will also, for the first time, sell British-grown cucumbers through the winter months – a move that aims to increase the volume of British-grown whole cucumbers on its shelves up to 60% this winter. The move will also help shore up resilience of the category year-round as weather shocks – such as increased rainfall – continue to impact warmer regions through the winter months.
The British winter crop will be grown at Thanet Earth in Kent, said to be the UK’s largest single site glasshouse complex, where supplementary lighting, heat, and CO2 are carefully managed to create the conditions cucumber plants need to keep growing through the darkest months of the year.
“Investing in more British production and supporting our suppliers to innovate is helping us build a stronger, more resilient supply chain.”
Hannah O’Reilly, category director of produce at Sainsbury’s, commented: “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.
“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, stated: “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.”
Paul Faulkner, director at Evesham Vale Growers, stated: “Our long-standing partnership with Sainsbury’s is built on a shared commitment of growing and delivering great-quality tomatoes for its customers. Having the confidence and certainty that comes with a long-term agreement allows us to look ahead to the future and invest in our business, build on the number of British grown tomatoes already on Sainsbury’s shelves, extend availability and ensure customers can enjoy more British-grown produce.”
Sainsbury’s said that the agreements were “among the longest in the industry” and were designed to give British growers the “certainty they need to invest for the long-term” as the sector faces rising costs, climate volatility and growing pressure on supply.
