Henry Smith, Conservative MP for Crawley, has joined the support
for a ‘Buy British’ section on supermarkets’ online stores
following the launch by Aldi of a ‘Best of British’ section for
click-and-collect.
Mr Smith said:
“It’s great to see Aldi have made this small but meaningful
change and put our farmers first.
“The reaction to this campaign has been overwhelmingly positive,
with food producers across the United Kingdom supporting the call
and consumers asking why supermarkets weren’t doing it already.
“I trust other supermarkets will make the change soon too to back
British produce.”
In August 2023, the Crawley MP and more than 100 other
parliamentarians signed an open
letter calling on supermarkets to highlight the very best of
British produce by implementing a ‘Buy British’ section online.
The letter, written by Bosworth MP , stated ‘Our ask is simple, create a tab that
collates produce from farmers,’ citing consumer choice,
environmental benefits and support for farmers as reasons to make
the change.
The Chief Executive of Aldi, Giles Hurley, has confirmed the
implementation of ‘a standalone ‘Best of British’ category on our
website to showcase our incredible British products.’
The UK’s fourth largest supermarket’s new dedicated webpage
includes a wide selection of over 250 groceries, ranging from
meat to dairy products and everyday essentials, and can be found
on the Aldi website for click
and collect shoppers.
Since signed the open letter over
30,000 people have signed a National Farmers’ Union (NFU)
petition in support, the Government endorsed the campaign and
Morrisons also launched a ‘British’ section online.
Dr commented;
“I’m really pleased to see Aldi have reiterated their commitment
to support our farmers by making it even easier for consumers to
buy British produce online.
“Aldi have rightly recognised the importance of supporting our
food growers and producers by putting the new ‘Best of British’
section right at the top of their webpage!
“When I speak to farmers they say the best thing we can do to
support them is buy homegrown food, this is another step in the
right direction and I look forward to seeing other supermarkets
follow in their footsteps.”
The Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, Julie Ashfield,
added;
“Our Best of British webpage aims to give our customers the
chance to navigate British products more easily whilst supporting
the thousands of local suppliers that we work with.
“We are proud to champion so many British suppliers and they are
at the heart of our success, allowing us to offer our customers
great British quality at the best possible prices.”
The President of the National Farmers’ Union, Minette Batters,
commented;
“It’s fantastic that Aldi is championing British farmers by
introducing a ‘Best of British’ section online. Recent data shows
that most shoppers want to buy more British food and this simple
change will help Aldi customers locate high quality, homegrown
food much more easily.
“We now have two major retailers in Aldi and Morrisons adapting
their online service to support both their suppliers and
customers. has been instrumental in driving this campaign
forwards and thanks to his tireless efforts alongside the NFU I
hope even more retailers will follow suit.”
