{"id":123476,"date":"2026-07-26T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T09:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=123476"},"modified":"2026-07-26T10:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T09:03:11","slug":"sainsbury-unveils-a-10-year-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/sainsbury-unveils-a-10-year-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Sainsbury Unveils a 10-Year Plan That Could Reshape Its Fresh Produce Supply"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The announcement comes after shortages in early 2023 led supermarkets across the UK to restrict purchases of several fresh produce lines, including tomatoes<\/strong>, cucumbers <\/strong>and peppers<\/strong>. According to Sainsbury\u2019s, increasing domestic production is part of a wider effort to improve the availability of these products throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new agreements, each lasting 10 years, have been signed with Evesham Vale Growers and Thanet Earth. They form part of the supermarket\u2019s broader commitment to long-term partnerships with British and Irish farms while supporting investment in UK food production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long-Term Partnerships Aim to Strengthen Domestic Supply<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Sainsbury\u2019s, British-grown tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers already play a significant role in its salad range. The retailer said that increasingly unpredictable weather in warmer growing regions has highlighted the need to develop more resilient supply chains<\/strong> by expanding production closer to home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the agreements is with Thanet Earth,<\/strong> based in Kent, where the company operates the UK’s largest single-site glasshouse complex. Sainsbury<\/a>\u2019s said the partnership will allow British-grown cucumbers to remain available beyond the traditional summer season and extend into winter for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winter crop will be produced using supplementary lighting, heating and controlled carbon dioxide levels to maintain suitable growing conditions during the darkest months of the year. According to Sainsbury\u2019s, the long-term agreement provides the certainty needed for Thanet Earth to invest in the facilities required to grow cucumbers commercially throughout the British winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannah O\u2019Reilly<\/a>, Category Director of Produce at Sainsbury\u2019s, said changing weather patterns make it increasingly necessary to find new approaches that allow customers to buy quality produce all year round. She added that longer-term contracts help growers invest in innovation while strengthening the supermarket\u2019s supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sainsbury\u2019s expands British winter cucumber supply through Thanet Earth deal \u00a9 Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Investment Follows Previous Shortages Caused by Weather Disruption<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The announcement<\/a> follows supply problems experienced in early 2023, when poor weather and transport disruption across North Africa and parts of Europe resulted in shortages on UK supermarket shelves. According to reports, retailers introduced temporary purchase limits<\/strong> on tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, salad bags and some vegetables as supplies became constrained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sainsbury\u2019s said customers will begin to see the benefits of the new agreements from this summer with the introduction of the Taste the Difference British Salad Selection 800g box. The retailer also stated that the partnership with Thanet Earth is expected to increase the volume of British-grown whole cucumbers available during winter by up to 60%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second agreement, with Evesham Vale Growers,<\/strong> supports the retailer\u2019s existing British tomato supply. According to Sainsbury\u2019s, demand for its Taste the Difference tomato range remained strong last year, generating more than \u00a3120 million in sales and accounting for more than 65% of its total tomato sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rob James<\/a>, Technical Director at Thanet Earth, said the agreement allows the business to plan with greater certainty and continue investing in technology that supports winter cucumber production. He said that creating the right growing conditions has made it possible to supply British-grown cucumbers at a time of year when that had not previously been achievable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sainsbury\u2019s has announced new long-term agreements with two UK growers to increase the supply of British tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers as concerns grow over the impact of drought and extreme weather on imported produce. The retailer says the partnerships are intended to strengthen the resilience of its supply chain after recent weather-related disruptions exposed the vulnerability of relying heavily on overseas crops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123476"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123479,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123476\/revisions\/123479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}