How local are our supermarkets?

To see how local the products are there and how they are marketed, we visited M&S, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s Local.

We focused on fresh products that can actually grow in Scotland, so pineapples and bananas don’t count, but apples, potatoes, lettuce and even tomatoes do. We also looked at the eggs, meat and chicken provenance.

Why so few local products?

There are various elements that can bring an answer to this question:

1. Supermarkets rely on continuous stock refilling, which local smaller exploitations cannot guarantee (because of weather conditions for instance).

2. For supermarkets, sourcing from 10 small exploitations instead of 1 or 2 bigger ones represents extra costs.

3. For farmers and producers, the prices that they will sell their products to the supermarkets + often the cost of delivering the products themselves represent a loss of money. They would rather sell them themselves.

Marketing the flag(s)

The flags, whether British or Scottish, are emphasised on the products, you cannot miss them. What can be a sign of pride for selling British or Scottish products is also a good opportunity for supermarkets to show that they support “local” production.

There could be a marketing opportunity as well, especially in the last two years in the pandemic context. In the UK, the attention to food provenance has moved up the rankings, with 40% of respondents saying where their food comes from will be an important issue for them.

In March 2021, British Lion egg processor stated that people were being misled by supermarkets. In fact, if most eggs sold in UK supermarkets are British, it’s not the case for eggs that are used as ingredients in prepared meals such as quiches. And 64% of UK shoppers would feel more confident buying egg products if they saw a British Lion mark on the packaging. Which by extension means that displaying the flag on products in the aisles would boost sales.

It seems so important that the "Keep Scotland the Brand" campaign fights for Scottish products to be labelled with the Scottish flag and not the British one.

This could explain why so many vegetables display the British flag and not the Scottish one, even when produced in Scotland, like the potatoes grown in Angus in the video.

The reality of imports

As for the UK, HSBC analyst David McCarthy stated in 2019 that 80% of the food was imported. By this number he also takes into account ingredients of UK-processed food. So in the end, 20% of the food is actually grown or produced on British soil.

The impact of Brexit

The Scottish Government page on the country’s trade states that “Brexit and losing single market access would lead to: loss of protected tariffs; increased administrative bureaucracy and costs burdens from non-tariff barriers; restrictions or removal of freedom of movement to an industry reliant on EU labour; reduction or removal of regulations that maintain the value and reputation of Scottish products.”

Food and drinks are the most exported goods from Scotland, and Scotland is the biggest exporter in the UK. But with Brexit, the “balance” the country had with other nations is no more.

Does it mean the UK should refocus on its internal market instead? Producers would like this to happen. In 2020, an industry alliance of 31 of them pleaded for a more self-sufficient Britain. Which would mean to adapt our eating choices to rely more on goods that can be produced in the UK, in other words substitute imported food with the home-grown equivalent.

In the end, it seems to be a lot to ask unless the prices reflect the shorter circuit and is accessible to the majority.

But we have to keep in mind that the closest our food comes from, the least intermediaries and transport it needs, so local products should be cheaper...unless the supermarkets make a larger margin.