UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has announced the expansion of its long-term partnership model to 62 British berry farms.
The retailer said it has agreed five new five-year contracts with Angus Soft Fruit, Chambers, Soft Fruits Direct, J.O. Sims and Dyson Farming. It represents the next wave of the grocer’s long-term agreements, following similar commitments already in place across categories including pork, poultry, and dairy across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
The plan is that, by 2027, more than 2,500 farms will be backed by long-term contracts, which Sainsbury’s said represented £5 billion-plus of committed investment that secures 3.1 million tonnes of homegrown fresh food. According to the retailer, this model of working with suppliers secures food across categories including milk, carrots, mushrooms and chicken – it said it is particularly important right now as operating costs, climate pressures and global instability continue to impact farmers.
Regarding this week’s announcement, soft fruit has typically relied on short term, seasonal agreements, so these new long-term tie-ups are expected to give growers the security they need to invest in their future, including in sustainability and innovation.
Twenty years ago, Sainsbury’s began securing long-term partnerships with dairy farmers. With these established long-term farming partnerships and cost-of-production models, the retailer said its farmers know what the retailer will buy, at what price and for how long, so they can plan, invest and keep producing.
An agreement Sainsbury’s signed with Monaghan Mushrooms in Ireland last year has already enabled the retailer to deliver conventional mushrooms grown without peat, which the grocer noted was an example of how it is unlocking innovation and bringing value to the consumer.
Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts said: “Good food is something people depend on every day.
“In uncertain times our focus is on keeping food great value for customers while giving farmers the reassurance and certainty they need to plan ahead.”
He added: “By expanding these long-term agreements across more of our meat, dairy, fruit and veg, we’re backing British and Irish farming for the future and bringing more homegrown food to our customers. This is how we protect quality, value and provenance in an uncertain world and how we help secure the future of good food for all of us.”
Read about Sainsbury’s recent Foodsteps carbon data partnership on Green Retail World
[image credit: Sainsbury’s]
