Grocery sector news updates

Food workers on the breadline while CEOs prosper

Supermarket CEOs are earning up to 224 times more than their average employee, who are increasingly battling food poverty, writes Jack Thompson. Tortoise Media’s Responsibility 100 Index scores companies on environmental, social and ethical metrics and compares how their claims match up to… Read More
Waitrose switches wine packaging to cut carbon

Waitrose has announced plans to move most of its small wine formats from glass bottles into cans – a move that the grocer says will reduce carbon emissions and save resources. “Aluminium cans weigh significantly less than glass and create… Read More
Cost of fertiliser signals end of cheap food

Surging energy and fertiliser prices will have by far the greatest impact on food security in the coming decades, according to new research. High fertiliser prices linked to the war in Ukraine could put an additional 100 million people globally… Read More
Businesses back payments for nature-friendly farming

The government should raise the ambition of schemes that will pay farmers to adopt more nature friendly practices. That’s according to a coalition of more than 50 food businesses, banks, farmers and NGOs which has called for “bold and decisive… Read More
Farmers take tiny slice of food profits, study reveals

UK farmers can receive less than 1% of the profit from the food they sell with supermarkets, retailers and processors taking the vast majority. NGO Sustain compared the distribution of money in retail supply chains and alternative routes to market,… Read More
Wrap finds mixed progress on ‘best before’ advice

Businesses have been urged to do more to help curb the impact the UK’s food waste is having on climate change after a survey found mixed progress in implementing best practice guidance for labelling and storage. A retail survey published this week… Read More
Plastic packaging targets unlikely to be met

This time last year the Ellen MacArthur Foundation claimed that plastic use by big businesses was “likely to peak in 2021”. The latest update of its global plastic commitment shows this wasn’t the case, however. Use of virgin plastic is now as… Read More
Major food shifts needed to keep climate goals on track

Critical shifts in the way we produce and consume food are needed to achieve global food security and limit warming to 1.5°C. That’s according to a new report by the World Resources Institute (WRI) which warned that significantly more action… Read More
Plant-based sales slide when placed directly next to meat counterparts

Moving plant-based alternatives into the meat aisle helps boost sales but only if they are all in a dedicated area. Research by IGD and Asda showed that relocating the meat substitutes directly alongside their meat counterparts – for example plant-based sausages… Read More
Truss casts doubt over BOGOF ban

The government looks set to row back on plans to ban multi-buy deals for unhealthy foods after the prime minister signalled her opposition to the policy in her conference speech. Liz Truss used a section of her speech at this… Read More