Local sourcing was on the agenda at the November meeting of the Devon Farm Management Association in Exeter, sponsored by Simpkins Edwards Chartered Accountants.

The discussion was led by Mike Seymour, buyer for food produce at Tesco plc, who gave an insight into how one of the UK’s largest supermarkets is viewing the future for food supplies.

Local sourcing has become more important to consumers in recent years as the demand to know more about the food on our shelves grows. The supermarket chains have begun to respond by increasing their focus on this area; an important development for farmers who know that supermarkets have a huge impact on the farm gate price for their products, whether milk, meat, grain or vegetables.

The launch of the Tesco local sourcing initiative is a good example of how supermarkets are changing their relationships with farmers. This stemmed directly from customer feedback, with customers wanting to reduce food miles of the products they were buying and to be sure of their provenance.

During the initial trail period, locally sourced products were introduced to a selected number of stores in Cornwall, located within the main aisle areas to ensure a fair measurement of their take up against existing products. The initiative proved to be a success: in the past two years, a total of 200 products have been launched and 50 new suppliers introduced. The target profit of £900K has also been exceeded.

Seymour advised farmers in Devon that the success was built around products in daily use, including items such as potatoes, fish and meat. Tesco has found that niche lines are not as popular within the supermarket, possibly because people tend to use supermarkets to buy their ‘every day’ items rather than specialist products.

Working within a small team of three, Seymour has responsibility for building ‘local produce’ brands. The team also includes a technical manager who is able to offer advice to small suppliers and they are actively seeking new suppliers for their stores.

Simpkins Edwards agricultural partner, Mary Jane Campbell, said: “The Tesco experience highlights that consumer demand for local sourcing is significant. We have learnt that the West Country in particular has a strong loyalty to local produce from people living in the region and, of course, a large number of good quality producers who should therefore find that there are more options open to them when it comes to supplying our supermarkets.”

For more information on the Devon Farm Management Association and the annual events programme, please contact David Hinselwood on dhinshelwood@btinternet.com.

Details of the Tesco local sourcing initiative can be found online at: www.tesco.com/regionalsourcing.