Plea to Asda over ‘buy British’ tab
ASDA is now the only one of the UK’s major supermarkets not to offer a ‘buy British’ section on its website.
The US-owned retail giant has been left standing alone after Tesco launched a ‘Best of British’ tab pointing online shoppers to food and drink produced on these shores.
Tesco follows in the footsteps of Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrisons, Aldi, Ocado and the Coop.
It follows an open letter by Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans to the chief executives of the country’s eight major supermarkets asking for a filter which would direct shoppers to homegrown food.
The letter was co-signed by 126 cross-party MPs, and echoed a long-standing NFU plea dating back to 2016.
Tesco’s chief commercial officer, Ashwin Prasad, said supporting British farmers remained critical to ensuring the UK had a robust food industry.
“We count ourselves as
proud champions of British agriculture, striving to source produce from the UK wherever possible,” he stressed.
“Our customers share our love for British produce, and we want to do all we can to make it as easy to find as possible, no matter how they shop with us.”
NFU deputy president David Exwood added it was ‘brilliant’ to see Tesco follow six other supermarkets’ lead to add a buy British section on their website.
“We know from our own independent research that the
public want to buy more British food from retailers,” he said.
Dr Evans, who represents the Bosworth constituency in Leicestershire, said: “It’s great to see the UK’s largest supermarket join other major retailers in implementing an online ‘Buy British’ section.
“This is really welcome news and a step forward in supporting our nation’s food growers and producers by showcasing over 500 homegrown items, with everything from meat and vegetables to dairy products now easier to find.