Food and drink companies learnt their lessons from heavy snowfalls last winter to be fully prepared for this week's Arctic blast.

As airports shut, trains were suspended, roads became impassable and temperatures dropped to -21.1C, retailers and manufacturers battled through the snow to keep the nation fed and watered.

Asda, which blamed January's harsh weather for a 0.3% drop in first-quarter like-for-like sales, launched 'Operation Snowflake' this week to make sure it wasn't caught out by the weather.

A spokeswoman said the chain had collected "a mountain of grit" to keep car parks clear and special contractors had been drafted in to clear snow. Local farmers were also on hand to clear "extreme snow drifts" and online sales drivers had been equipped with sledges to make it easier for them to carry goods to customers doors.

Another victim of last winter's icy blast was the dairy industry, which was forced to dump milk after deliveries were unable to get through. This time around Dairy Crest said it was "well prepared".

"Over the course of this year, we have had several planning meetings with our milk haulage partners and farmers to ensure we are well prepared," said a spokeswoman. "New communications procedures have been developed, contingency kit is in place and clear protocols regarding age of milk, insurance requirements, etc, have been drawn up and circulated."

However, many stores and factories were forced to shut because of the weather, with insurer RSA estimating a cost of £1.2bn per day to the economy. Highland Spring's Blackford plant was forced to close for 24 hours earlier in the week after heavy snow shut the A9. And The Co-operative Group said it had been forced to temporarily close a few stores in the Dartford and Tunbridge areas, which had experienced heavy snowfall.

Reports of panic buying also led to empty shelves in supermarkets as shoppers worried deliveries wouldn't make it through the snow. Sainsbury's said soup sales were up 30%, while Tesco reported a 67% jump in sales of thermal leggings.

Against all the odds, Sainsbury's opened seven new stores on Wednesday. Dubbing the day "Super Wednesday", the retailer said it was the busiest day of the year for its property team, opening 226,279 sq ft of new space in one day.

New stores opened in Stanway, Hawick, and Neston, while new extensions opened at Broadcut, Longwater Lane, Deepdale and Bramingham Park.

C-stores also experienced an uplift in trade as customers chose to walk to their local stores to avoid driving on icy roads. Costcutter said it had seen a big increase in sales in village stores.