Aldi has reaffirmed its promise to prioritise UK suppliers as it works towards its commitment, made a year ago, to spend an additional £3.5 billion a year with British businesses by the end of 2025.
The retailer has invested an extra £1.6 billion with British suppliers since the start of the coronavirus pandemic as it continues to grow across the UK.
The continued pledge will help hundreds more small British businesses to grow and invest in the future, the discounter said.
CEO of Aldi UK, Giles Hurley, said:“We were the fastest-growing supermarket in the UK in 2021 and that has only been possible by working closely, over long periods, with hundreds of British suppliers.
“As we continue to grow, opening new stores across the UK, we are determined to ensure that the vast majority of our grocery products continue to come from British suppliers, just as they do now.”
Last summer, Aldi also launched a supplier development programme, ‘Grow with Aldi’, offering British spirits producers the chance to see their product sold in Aldi stores across the country.
The winner wasHerefordshire-based fruit farmers turned craft gin distilleryPenrhos Gin,which saw its bottles stocked in over 900 Aldi stores and as well as online.
In addition, Aldi, the UK’s fifth biggest supermarket, plans to create 2,000 UK jobs in 2022 as it aims to open an average of one new store a week to meet growing demand.
Aldi is among the best-paying UK supermarkets and fromnext month, all in-store employees will be paid a minimum of £10.10 an hour nationally, or £11.55 for those inside the M25.
