Time To Boycott Tesco?

[Barleycorn]

I've not been in Aldi or Lidl for years. Last time I went I couldn't find what I wanted, half the stuff was foreign or weird sounding branded goods like 'Heenze' beans and I gave up. I've thought ever since that I'll get what I want from a supermarket and that the very last thing to economise on will be the food we eat. I get the odd bit of stuff from local farm shops (which a helpful TFFer then informed me was mostly imported stuff- though very nice) to supplement what we buy from Tesco.

Say what you like, the Tesco fruit and veg offer in this neck of the woods is unbelievably good and when you have 2 kids who are plenty fussy when they want to be, the ability to give them good quality fruit and veg irrespective of the time of year is very valuable to us.

I used to say that about Aldi, all you could get was hot dog sausages and pickled cabbage. Certainly all changed now. All the fresh meat and veg is British, and (dare I say it) Red Tractor. I've managed to wean the Mrs off Waitrose to go there. Only problem is what she brings back from the junk in the 'middle isle'.

 

[Johnnyboxer]

Booths for us this morning, if you spent over £5 on booze, you got a free Wainright Jennings beer glass

Great place to shop

 

[roscoe erf]

Already boycott it as does the whole family.

same here

 

[roscoe erf]

You do realise the horse meat wasn’t just found in Tesco stores? But don’t let that get in the way of a good witch hunt

they sell witches as well

 

[roscoe erf]

I think I only know one, a second cousin and I didn't realise he was vegan. He takes it seriously and knows a lot about it but certainly doesn't fit the stereotype. He doesn't talk about it unless you ask questions, doesn't try to convert anyone and isn't offended by those that eat a more traditional diet.
He's also maybe the fittest member of the family
If all vegans were like him I don't think most people would even notice, let alone have a problem with it.

if he hasn't told you he s a vegan then he is not

 

[Pistonbroke]

It's all relative. Are they worse than the alternatives? Only one butcher in our local town,buys lamb from a questionable looking "foreign type" wholesalers from 80 miles away,seen him buying plain dairy bullocks in hereford store sale a week before Christmas because he was short for Christmas orders,not sure I'd want any of that,but drives round in a new range rover and buys racehorses. British meat off the Butcher's counter in Tesco looks a better bet to me.

 

[thesilentone]

As has been said, Tesco are in it for money, end off.

However, Tesco is not the issue here, the issue is competition in the market for the hearts and minds of the British housewife.

We need to raise to the challenge by promoting the real benefits of British Meat. The branding of meat leaves allot to be desired, that is down to laziness from our side and lack of effort in educating the buyers.

How does the housewife know the difference between low cost commercial meat and quality such as Angus or Galloway ?

Where are the exclusive shelves in supermarkets selling premium meats at premium prices, well packaged and presented ? Even the same meat at different ages of maturity.

Until we wake up to a new way of promoting and selling our produce we will always be at the mercy of the Supermarkets.

Markets are about choice, all products sell to different buyers, that is what supermarkets cater for. If in doubt, take a walk down the wine isle, and decide what to buy. Your subconscious will be convinced by shelf space and eye level, which will be the most profitable brand for the Supermarket.

But people also buy, top and bottom shelf wines, in sufficient volumes for the Supermarket to stock them.

What choice is their at the meat counters ? A product with a Union jack on the front that turns out to have come from another Country !!

Look for a quality wine, or research a wine on the internet, there will be no end of reviews and star ratings and choices of places to buy, we need to create ' meat snobbery ' and join the mainstream.

Time to wake up.

 

[Wesley]

From what i can tell most people just need someone to hate & blame & Tesco is the easy target for them. Regardless whether any other company does similar.
Not liking them due to a bad experience i can understand but some reasons are just plain crazy. “But they’re increasing their vegan products”, Arla are “owned” by dairy farmers & yet produce vegan alternatives to the very thing that allowed the farmers to invest their money in the company. “Tesco don’t sell 100% UK produced meat”, Arla sell Lurpak, produced in Denmark. So where are the calls to boycott Arla because i’ve not heard any? In fact most Arla producers only have good things to say.
Arla are looking after their shareholders, Tesco are doing the same. Tesco owe you nothing, its how many big businesses operate. If you don’t like it don’t sell to them. Its pretty simple.

 

[Bald n Grumpy]

Arla's approach to vegan products if I remember correctly is that if people want to buy "oat milk" they may as well sell it and in the future buy the oats from arla members (not share holders)
Why be against vegans I'm sure the countries fruit and veg growers appreciate them
and don't say boycott tescos for promoting meat
And how many of us buy from abroad when there is a British alternative

 

[toquark]

Do you really think Tesco will care about a (very) few p1ssed off farmers not shopping there?

Just like every other supermarket, they're a business responding to a changing market trend. End of.

 

[kiwi pom]

As has been said, Tesco are in it for money, end off.

However, Tesco is not the issue here, the issue is competition in the market for the hearts and minds of the British housewife.

We need to raise to the challenge by promoting the real benefits of British Meat. The branding of meat leaves allot to be desired, that is down to laziness from our side and lack of effort in educating the buyers.

How does the housewife know the difference between low cost commercial meat and quality such as Angus or Galloway ?

Where are the exclusive shelves in supermarkets selling premium meats at premium prices, well packaged and presented ? Even the same meat at different ages of maturity.

Until we wake up to a new way of promoting and selling our produce we will always be at the mercy of the Supermarkets.

Markets are about choice, all products sell to different buyers, that is what supermarkets cater for. If in doubt, take a walk down the wine isle, and decide what to buy. Your subconscious will be convinced by shelf space and eye level, which will be the most profitable brand for the Supermarket.

But people also buy, top and bottom shelf wines, in sufficient volumes for the Supermarket to stock them.

What choice is their at the meat counters ? A product with a Union jack on the front that turns out to have come from another Country !!

Look for a quality wine, or research a wine on the internet, there will be no end of reviews and star ratings and choices of places to buy, we need to create ' meat snobbery ' and join the mainstream.

Time to wake up.

How much "premium beef" is farmed or sold in the UK?
Surely most of it is just "commercial beef" Just because it was an Angus doesn't make it premium does it?
The problem I see with British Beef is, it's all different. Different breeds run on different systems in different ways with all kinds of different feeds. How can that be a premium product?
If you look in the livestock section on here everyone seems to have a different opinion on how to do the job, so the end product is going to be all over the place.
I'd say the majority of those who meat shop don't really care, they either want something cheap or they just buy mince and burgers. The commercial market fills that requirement just fine, even using dairy bred animals to supply it.

 

[kiwi pom]

At the level of the individual - the micro level - yes, that definition works. A supermarket is a building where you can do all of your weekly shop.
However, we aren't talking about the micro level. Whenever someone puts a post up on here complaining about 'supermarkets', they aren't complaining about a building that sells stuff. They are referring to supermarkets at a national/ societal/ industry level - the macro level.
At a macro level: Define 'supermarket'.

Supermarkets are well run, efficient businesses that supply a product the average consumer wants. Hassle free, plenty of parking, all under one roof shopping at competitive prices. The fact that so many shop there instead of local shops, shows that's what the public want.
Their size means they can make large orders with processors and wholesalers who then compete with each other to supply, in some cases they have direct contracts with farmers for things like milk, they seem to be among the best payers and take every drop of milk produced every day, all nice and simple for the farmer
You seem to have a problem with the number of supermarkets but as far as I can tell the UK still has all kinds of different ways for the average citizen to shop, from farm shops, to butchers to mega stores.
You have the freedom to sell your produce to anyone you want.

 

[michael N123]

Of that 3% I reckon 2% just "say" they are

My cousins are c girlfriend was a vegan

Only when with her parents

 

[delilah]

Supermarkets are well run, efficient businesses that supply a product the average consumer wants. Hassle free, plenty of parking, all under one roof shopping at competitive prices.

Is that your definition ? Again, you are describing a farm shop round the corner from me.
If that is your definition, which bit of that are farmers constantly coming on here and complaining about ?

You seem to have a problem with the number of supermarkets

Do I ? In what way ?

the UK still has all kinds of different ways for the average citizen to shop,

No it doesn't. If choice is defined by what choice you have without having to own a car, then millions of households have no choice.

You have the freedom to sell your produce to anyone you want.

There have been many posts on here from farmers who would dispute that. Their choice has been eroded - through happenstance of location, scale and other factors - to the point where they are getting out.

 

[kiwi pom]

Is that your definition ? Again, you are describing a farm shop round the corner from me.
If that is your definition, which bit of that are farmers constantly coming on here and complaining about ?



Do I ? In what way ?



No it doesn't. If choice is defined by what choice you have without having to own a car, then millions of households have no choice.



There have been many posts on here from farmers who would dispute that. Their choice has been eroded - through happenstance of location, scale and other factors - to the point where they are getting out.

Fix it then.
Don't post a link, explain what's wrong and what you want.
Farmers are free to sell to whoever they want or retail their own produce.
If they don't want to, It's not compulsory to be a farmer.

 

[delilah]

Fix it then.
Don't post a link, explain what's wrong and what you want.
Farmers are free to sell to whoever they want or retail their own produce.
If they don't want to, It's not compulsory to be a farmer.

This discussion started because I said that at a macro level - ie the context of all of the endless posts on tff that use the word supermarket - Booths isn't a supermarket.
You said that it is. I asked you to provide your definition of a supermarket, and all you have done, repeatedly, is provide the micro definition, ie what a supermarket is to an individual shopper.

When people complain about 'supermarkets' they are complaining about power in the marketplace, which is a result of market share. We must therefore define what is and what isn't a 'supermarket' according to market share.
If we use your definition - a big building with a carpark - then none of the posts on here complaining about supermarkets make any sense.

A supermarket is any business responsible for more than x% of food retailing. Insert your own number.

Your assertion that farmers and consumers have choice as to who to sell to and who to buy from is wrong. That choice has been eroded over the last 30+ years, and is linked directly to the concentration of market share in retailing.
Picture the food chain as an egg timer. The pinch point in the middle has been narrowed to the point where open and transparent trading between the top and the bottom can no longer take place.

 

[thesilentone]

How much "premium beef" is farmed or sold in the UK?
Surely most of it is just "commercial beef" Just because it was an Angus doesn't make it premium does it?
The problem I see with British Beef is, it's all different. Different breeds run on different systems in different ways with all kinds of different feeds. How can that be a premium product?
If you look in the livestock section on here everyone seems to have a different opinion on how to do the job, so the end product is going to be all over the place.
I'd say the majority of those who meat shop don't really care, they either want something cheap or they just buy mince and burgers. The commercial market fills that requirement just fine, even using dairy bred animals to supply it.

To a degree you're right, so the supermarket demands consistency, a real tough call in the UK. So, the beef suppliers to supermarkets is falling into fewer hands, some of which are very large, and not really providing the full British Quality as most are mainly grain finished. Not a great way of using grain if we are to engage the whole environmental argument.

The once niche, grass fed traditional breed beef is now doing very nicely, however it is often sold privately or on the hook to specialist buyers, and never get's near the supermarket shelf. All very well, however putting aside the organic argument, this quality needs to be on the Supermarket shelves if we are to make progress, and be in a position to fight the competition.

The supermarkets providing a spec is all well and good and understandable, however there should also be a market for other standards more suitable to traditional breeds, marketed in a different way, at a higher price, with more profit for the supplier.

The same for lamb, pork and chicken. If the spec is the be-all-and-end-all, this puts all the power into the hands of the buyer, and allows them to source as and where that spec can be met in or out of the UK.

We have spent decades convincing people that fat is bad for them, and to be avoided, nothing could be further from the truth. Certain fats are bad for you, strangely enough, those found in many supermarket products that have been processed.

Educating buyers to the vast choice, quality and benefits of different types of meat should be our No1 aim, customer demand rules the day, standards and specification fly out the window if the customers demand it. Because they know, if they can't buy it in the Supermarket, they will buy it elsewhere, and what else are they likely to buy ?