Campaign pursued by Henry Smith MP to ‘Buy British’ welcomes Sainsbury’s signing up

Henry said: “It’s great to see Sainsbury’s have made this site-wide change and put our nation’s 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.

“Sainsbury’s have become the biggest supermarket to launch a ‘Best of British’ section and with 450 items, it’s the biggest yet!”

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 Dr Luke Evans, 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 ‘Best of British’ page on Sainsburys.co.uk spotlights over 450 British-sourced grocery products – including popular produce, meat, dairy and eggs – meaning customers shopping for groceries on the Sainsbury’s website can now find and buy homegrown produce even more easily.

The move champions British grown and produced products to the millions of online customers who shop with Sainsbury’s.

Since Henry Smith MP 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 and Aldi have also launched a ‘British’ section for online shoppers.

Dr Luke Evans MP commented: “This is another huge step forward for my ‘Buy British’ button campaign! With Sainsbury’s launch of a ‘Buy British’ section online they become the latest supermarket to support homegrown produce

“This gives consumers extra choice, which is good for our environment and helps to support British farmers.

“Sainsbury’s have taken a further step forward by placing signposting to buy homegrown produce on the homepage and in other sections on the website such as those dedicated to dairy, fruit and vegetables.

“Farmers always tell me the best thing we can do to support them is to buy local, homegrown produce and the new ‘Best of British’ section on Sainsbury’s website makes it even easier for shoppers to support our farmers and cut down on unnecessary food miles.

“It’s great to see Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Morrisons all leading the way on the ‘Buy British’ button, I look forward to seeing other supermarkets follow their lead. The dial is shifting on this, I hope the likes of Tesco and Asda will follow soon.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Sainsbury’s, Simon Roberts, added: “Many of our customers want to support British suppliers and make more conscious choices when doing their food shop, and our new Buy British webpage helps them to do just that through a curation of over 450 quality, 100 per cent locally sourced products.

“We recognise the pressures that British farmers are facing and the importance of supporting them to maintain a resilient UK food system for the long term. Our relationships with farmers and suppliers are incredibly important to us and we remain committed to sourcing British as much as we can, now and in the future.”

The President of the National Farmers’ Union, Tom Bradshaw, commented: “It’s fantastic to see supermarkets getting behind Dr Luke Evans’ campaign and I’m delighted that Sainsbury’s is also backing British farmers by adding a British section online in order to signpost shoppers to homegrown produce.

“Our own independent research shows the public want to buy more British food from retailers and we have been championing this issue for some time. The addition of the British section online by Sainsbury’s will help customers support British farmers.”

Customers will see a varying selection of products on the page which is dependent on the seasonal availability and ranging in their local store.