Welcome to the May-June issue of Grocery Trader. Lidl GB has announced an evolution of its long-standing partnership with Neighbourly, introducing a new trial with the popular food-sharing app Olio to redistribute even more surplus food. This landmark collaboration significantly scales up Lidl GB’s existing efforts with social impact platform Neighbourly by integrating Olio’s network of Food Waste Heroes into its surplus food network – combining the strengths of two leading players in food redistribution for the first time.
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As incidents of crime, from theft to abuse of retail workers, remain high, shoppers are increasingly stepping in to support store staff, the latest data from SAI Group, the leading AI intelligence solution for physical retail, reveals. With the British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimating that 5.5 million incidents of shoplifting took place last year, costing the industry ~£400 million, retail crime remains rife.
Grocery workers are being urged to seek help sooner, as new research reveals more than half (53 per cent) of grocery workers have avoided asking for financial help due to fear of being judged, with many choosing to struggle in silence, taking a toll on their mental wellbeing. A poll of 200 UK grocery workers found 82 per cent felt a stigma around needing additional money to get by, believing difficulty is still seen as something to hide rather than talk about (75 per cent). But the impact goes far beyond finances.
Food waste is often framed as a consumer behaviour problem. For wholesalers and F&B operators, it is an issue more immediate to their operations and a margin crisis hiding in plain sight. Across the UK, the average wholesaler is losing around £157,000 a year to food waste, including more than 12% of their fresh and perishable stock annually. Much of this waste occurs long before produce reaches retailers or consumers, with the warehouse emerging as the centre of where preventable losses begin, writes John Burgess, Innovation Director, Balloon One.
According to a recent L.E.K. Consulting survey on consumer sentiment, the UK consumer environment was found to be stabilising, with improving confidence and broadly steady household finances, particularly among younger cohorts. However, this has not triggered a return to pre-inflation behaviours, with spending remaining deliberate and actively managed. Food and beverage sits at the heart of this shift, which are acting both as a protected discretionary category and a key channel for health and wellbeing behaviours, writes Kristin Graham, Partner at L.E.K. Consulting.
Price fluctuation is no longer a surprise. It has become a norm across multiple grocery supermarkets, from fresh produce to pantry staples. Pricing intelligence systems quickly adapt, balancing profitability and competitiveness, writes Rebecca Roberts, Sales Marketing Manager at Vapoholic Distribution.
Enjoy reading the issue.
George Simpson
Group Editor
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