Farmers producing meat for Sainsbury’s ready meals in the Mey Selections range will receive a guaranteed premium under the terms of a new supply agreement.
In a deal believed to be a first for ready meals, Sainsbury’s will be paying a higher price back to supplier North Highland Products with the understanding that all of the extra margin is passed straight back to farmers. The retail price of the products will remain the same.
NHP supplies 18 beef ready meals to the supermarket’s Taste the Difference range under a co-branding arrangement, under which the Mey Selections logo is used on the front of packs. At this stage the premium will not be overtly promoted on pack. Instead a sentence will read: ‘Sainsbury’s exclusive partnership with Mey Selections supports this local farming community.’
The company would not reveal how much extra the supermarket was paying to farmers, but is understood that the returns will be calculated according to a forumula based on each ready meal sold.
“This is recognition by a large supermarket chain that the production of these unique foods can only be sustained if a fair price is paid to sustain our farming systems in the far north of Scotland,” said Mey Selections chairman Danny Miller. “We are delivering a great product to customers and Sainsbury’s is playing its part in ensuring that our farming community is sustainable.”
The initiative was a step towards giving consumers the option of supporting UK farmers in the same way Fairtrade supported overseas producers, claimed Mey Selections MD John Strak.
“Fairtrade has got going but people also want to support British farmers. They haven’t really got a vehicle to do that, so in our own little way it’s a similar sort of message to that of Fairtrade,” he said. Similar messages had already been introduced for products such as eggs and bottled water, but this was the first for ready meals, Strak added.
The Mey range of ready meals includes cottage pie, lasagne and herby beef meatballs, among others.
NHP supplies 18 beef ready meals to the supermarket’s Taste the Difference range under a co-branding arrangement, under which the Mey Selections logo is used on the front of packs. At this stage the premium will not be overtly promoted on pack. Instead a sentence will read: ‘Sainsbury’s exclusive partnership with Mey Selections supports this local farming community.’
The company would not reveal how much extra the supermarket was paying to farmers, but is understood that the returns will be calculated according to a forumula based on each ready meal sold.
“This is recognition by a large supermarket chain that the production of these unique foods can only be sustained if a fair price is paid to sustain our farming systems in the far north of Scotland,” said Mey Selections chairman Danny Miller. “We are delivering a great product to customers and Sainsbury’s is playing its part in ensuring that our farming community is sustainable.”
The initiative was a step towards giving consumers the option of supporting UK farmers in the same way Fairtrade supported overseas producers, claimed Mey Selections MD John Strak.
“Fairtrade has got going but people also want to support British farmers. They haven’t really got a vehicle to do that, so in our own little way it’s a similar sort of message to that of Fairtrade,” he said. Similar messages had already been introduced for products such as eggs and bottled water, but this was the first for ready meals, Strak added.
The Mey range of ready meals includes cottage pie, lasagne and herby beef meatballs, among others.
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