Asda has this week launched a 'Buy British' campaign under the banner of 'Good, Honest Value - Celebrating Home-grown produce'.
A key aim of the campaign is to actively promote Asda's full range of British meat, produce and dairy lines in order to:
Increase sales for its farmer suppliers
Educate customers about where their food comes from
This patriotic campaign will be supported by a variety of related actvities, including:
The launch of60 SKUs in 2003 with a British theme and/or with British ingredients, for instance English stilton with champagne and strawberries, pork steaks with Thai butter
Moves to extend the British growing season - British carrots will be in season for 50 weeks of the year at Asda whilst the new potato season will be extended by an extra ten weeks
The introduction of a new honest labelling policy where generic statements such as 'product of EU' will be replaced with specific statements regarding country of origin
A twelve week promotional and sampling campaign encouraging customers across Asda's 259 stores to try British food.
Launching the activity, Asda's Head of Agriculture Chris Brown said:
"We are committed to educating customers about where their food comes from in the first place, whilst continuing to work with our farming partners to increase the amount and range of British produce we sell in our stores ... We have worked closely with farmers and their representatives in the last few months to address some of their concerns about labelling and the promotion of British produce. By working in partnership we have been able to devise a new open and honest labelling policy that clearly highlights the country of origin. We have also pledged to promote the 'Buy British' message in all our stores to encourage our customers to support home-grown produce"
President of the National Farmers Union, Ben Gill said:
"It is now much easier for Asda customers to identify which products are home-grown and therefore easier for them to actively support British farmers. By doing so, they know they will be getting good, honest value for their money. This is an important step forward and gives the lead for all to follow."
The Co-op is planning a major campaign that could see Fairtrade bananas outsell traditional fruit varieties. The three week half price promotion will see prices drop from £1.70 to 85p a kilo across all UK stores to encourage consumers to try Fairtrade produce.
At a period when trust in big business - especially in the food industry - is at an all-time low, companies which successfully promote themselves as ethical businesses are sure to do well. This at least is what happened to the Co-op last year, which successfully increased its sales and profits after a number of measures designed to highlight the ethical business practices adopted by the group.
Martin Beaumont, chief executive said the values and principles espoused by his businesses had paid dividends during 2002: "In a year when levels of trust in business people and companies have taken some very hard knocks, we have been able to capitalise on the inherent trust and reassurance offered by a revitalised co-operative business."
The Fairtrade promotion starts today and will feature bananas from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana and Peru.
A joint venture between South Africa's largest food retailer and the City of Cape Town will result in one of the Cape's poorest settlements, Makaza, receiving its first fully-fledged shopping centre at a cost of R25m (US$3.1m). A total of 7,500m2 of lettable space will available for another 35 tenants when the store opens in time for the December festive rush.
Besides Shoprite's store, 4,500m2 will be available for restaurants, fastfood outlets, clothing, furniture, pharmacies and doctors rooms as well as a petrol station.The new Shoprite store will provide work for 120 people and the line shops another 200, according to Shoprite director, Brian Weyers. He said it formed part of the company's regional expansion programme and was planned in consultation with the Khayelitsha Development Forum.
Shoprite Holdings is currently negotiating sites, building stores or on the verge of opening new stores in Angola, Ghana, Mauritius, Madagascar and India. Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson, said he was very excited about the potential for growth in Angola. Within less than 10 years, Basson said, Angola could reach or exceed the current level of development in Zambia. In Zambia Shoprite has been trading for six years and has 18 Shoprites and seven Hungry Lions, which is a chicken and burger fast food chain.
