Tesco is striving to stock more local products than any other retailer and has put its eight regional buying offices at the centre of its pledge.
The UK number-one retailer is aiming to sell £400 million worth of local products this year, including fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy and drinks. This is expected to reach £1 billion by 2011.
Tesco has opened five new local buying offices across England in the last 12 months, in Plymouth, Peterborough, Horsham, York and Leicester, to supplement the regional offices in Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The network of sourcing offices, each with a buyer and marketing manager, has created a regionally based, UK-wide structure to drive local sourcing initiatives.
These offices have launched more than 1,000 new local product lines, and found around 90 new suppliers, across the fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery and drinks sectors, among others.
New branding for all locally sourced products was launched last year.
Giles Gravatt, commercial manager for local sourcing, told FPJ that fresh produce labelled as local has seen a 20-25 per cent sales uplift, compared to before the branding was launched.
He said: “The local branding for fresh produce was introduced for Cornish potatoes in November 2006, then it spread to Kent strawberries, and it has accelerated from there.
“This season, two thirds of potatoes sold in Kent will be locally sourced.”
Tesco claims that it has backed its local sourcing strategy by setting up a fund to waive costs for small suppliers, putting together a roadshow with regional food bodies, and hosting more than 60 Meet the Farmer events across the UK.
Sam Nundy, local buying manager for the eastern counties, has been based in Peterborough for just over a year. He told FPJ: “This area has always been a heartland for agriculture for Tesco, and we have relationships with suppliers that go back more than 20 years. We have been working closely with our grower base to bring seasonality back into produce, because if consumers know a product is local, they know it must be in season.
“This strategy is not about forcing the issue, it is about taking the best of what we already have and shouting about where it comes from. But it still has to hit the same quality and technical standards as other products, and we will keep those measures in place,” he added.
The sourcing strategy in the East will encompass fruit and flowers, as well as traditional vegetables. “We are looking at fruit quite seriously because Wisbech is a huge growing area for Bramley apples, and strawberries are grown in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk,” Nundy said. “Locally grown tulips have already hit stores this season, and stocks are due to hit stores from May, followed by lilies,” he added.
Tesco is determined to reach its £1bn target by 2011. Head of sourcing Emily Shamma said: “More customers want great local food that is fresh and contributes to the local economy. They want to help local farmers, save on food miles and to know how the product has been produced. They see ‘local’ as a badge of quality.
“There is so much more to come this year,” she added. “Most of our offices have only just got going, and our £1bn target shows how excited we are about the future for local. Our aim is to stock more local lines than any other retailer.”
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