Aldi claims title as largest British beef retailer
© Adobe Stock Aldi has claimed to be the nation’s largest retailer of British beef, despite being only the fourth-largest supermarket chain behind Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda.
Representatives from the retailer told Farmers Weekly that this announcement was based on insights from retail specialists Kantar.
The discount retailer has also announced plans to invest £3bn in British beef suppliers during the next five years, with ambitions to increase the range and quality of products available.
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It is understood that the £3bn represents Aldi’s purchasing spend on British beef, including its investment into longer-term contracts with suppliers to provide “increased farmer security”.
Aldi has secured a five-year contract with major meat processor Kepak, which includes a £260m investment into its line of Aberdeen Angus beef products.
Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi UK, said: “As the UK’s largest British beef retailer, we’re proud of our long-term relationships with British farmers across the country.
“The UK farming community plays a vital role in our food supply chains – our continued investment in British beef is in recognition of this and means we can continue to provide the best quality British products for our customers.”
Free range eggs
Aldi has also taken the top spot for sales of British free-range eggs, with figures from Kantar showing that the retailer sold almost 200m eggs in the 12 weeks to 9 June, more than any other UK supermarket.
It has invested in excess of £50m into the UK egg sector during the past two years.
Ms Ashfield added: “British suppliers are integral to Aldi’s success, and the long-term relationships we’ve formed with our UK egg farmers are something we take great pride in.
“Becoming the largest provider of free-range eggs is a great achievement which wouldn’t have been possible without these brilliant suppliers, who continue to work with us to put animal welfare first.”