UK grocery shoppers believe British is best

Consumers that state that British-produced goods are important to them when making a purchase

All figures are percentages

GlobalData has found that 59.9% of consumers in the UK agree that it is important to them that the food they purchase is manufactured or produced in Britain, far higher than any other retail sector.

One quarter of these consumers believe British sourcing is now more important to them than it was before the EU referendum. This latest research comes at a time when British produce and farmers are in the spotlight, with the major grocers shifting from international to domestic suppliers to help offset unfavourable currency fluctuations.

Lidl recently joined Aldi, the Co-operative, M&S, Morrisons, and Waitrose in signing the National Farmers Union’s (NFU) Back British Farming Charter to increase the percentage of fresh produce sourced in the UK. The Co-op has become the first to source all its fresh meat from Britain, and has pledged £10m in marketing its commitment to local sourcing. Meanwhile, Morrisons is searching for 200 UK suppliers.

Of the 59.9%, 81.5% of these consumers believe that British produced food is better quality than imported produce, playing into the hands of the supermarkets as this perception will help to justify higher price points. A total of 57.8% say they are willing to spend more on British sourced food, with 69.3% of those saying they are prepared to spend up to 10.0% more and 18.1% willing to spend up to 20.0% more.

This will allow the grocers to build margins in categories such as fresh meat, so long as provenance and farm-to-table benefits are effectively marketed to consumers.