Shopper rants about plastic to Sainsbury’s store manager who turned out to be CEO

SAINSBURY’S chief executive faced a confrontation with an angry customer who mistook him for the store manager as he complained about excessive plastic packaging.

Mike Coupe, who has led the supermarket chain since 2014, was at a branch in Bodmin, Cornwall, on an unannounced visit when he was approached by Michael Mayell.

The self-confessed “eco-nutter” complained to Mr Coupe about plastic packaging while shopping.

Mr Mayell, 52, ushered the chief executive to the fruit and vegetable aisle, where he asked him to explain why one loose pepper was priced at 50p, but six plastic-wrapped ones were £1.20.

He spoke with Mr Coupe for 30 minutes covering topics such as food waste and protests by Extinction Rebellion. He said: “He defended himself really well. He explained why it makes sense for the company to use packaging.

“He said that many aspects concerning packaging and recycling need to be directed from the Government.

“He did say that they’ve done research into it and they believe that it makes more environmental sense to package some things in plastic, and they want to be more aware of when it’s not making sense and they are moving towards that.”

Mr Mayell, who plays in a Kate Bush tribute band, said he did not realise who he was speaking to until he noticed “bemused” members of staff.

“I said to him, ‘Can I just check – are you the branch manager?’ And he said, ‘No, I am Sainsbury’s CEO,’” Mr Mayell explained. “He had all the time in the world for me. He looked like he really wanted to talk about it. He engaged about it and he was proud about where they were going.”