Tesco Joins “Buy British” Campaign Backed by Watford MP Dean Russell

Following a campaign backed by Dean Russell MP to make it easier for customers to buy British produce, Tesco has launched a dedicated “Best of British” section on its website.

In August 2023, a cross-party group of over 120 MPs, led by Dr. Luke Evans, called on supermarkets to create an online section highlighting British products. This initiative aimed to support British farmers, the environmental benefits of buying homegrown to reduce food miles and offer consumers more choices.

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket, has become the latest retailer to join Morrisons, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Co-op, and Waitrose in implementing a similar online section. Their “Best of British” page features over 500 British-grown products, including meat, vegetables, and dairy.

Dean Russell, Member of Parliament for Watford said “The campaign for a ‘Buy British’ button aims to make it even easier for people to buy homegrown produce, supporting our nation’s farmers and cutting down on unnecessary food miles.

“Tesco follow the lead of Morrisons, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Waitrose and the Co-op by making this small but meaningful change which puts our farmers and consumer choice first.

Ashwin Prasad, Tesco’s Chief Commercial Officer, said “Supporting British farmers, growers and suppliers remains critical to ensuring we have a robust food industry here in the UK, and we count ourselves as proud champions of British agriculture, striving to source produce from the UK wherever possible.

“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, so we’re thrilled to be launching our Best of British page on our groceries website, bringing together over 500 hundred quality, affordable British products to choose from.”

MPs and the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) welcomed Tesco’s move. They see it as a positive step towards supporting British farmers and giving consumers the choice to buy local.

“This is fantastic news,” said NFU Deputy President David Exwood. “It offers shoppers a direct way to support British farms.”

The campaign is hopeful that ASDA will be the next supermarket to follow suit.