Aldi to buy £3.5bn more food from British farms and suppliers

The company is currently investing £500m in new and upgraded stores, distribution centres and its supply chain in 2021 in anticipation of a large increase in sales.

The move is expected to create more than 4,000 jobs as well as new opportunities for British food and drink producers.

Giles Hurley, Chief Executive Officer at Aldi UK, said: “We are expecting significant sales growth in 2021 as we open new stores and bring Aldi to more locations across the UK. With the vast majority of our grocery products now coming from British suppliers, our growth will lead to additional jobs and investment in our UK supply chain.”

Aldi claimed its pledge will help hundreds of small British businesses continue to grow with the supermarket and invest for the future.

It cited one example of the Manchester Drinks Company whose ongoing partnership with Aldi began in 2015 to supply the supermarket with a host of different gins and gin liqueurs.

The partnership has enjoyed significant growth over the years, leading to a new site in Yorkshire that employs 19 people.

Richard Benjamin, Co-Owner at Manchester Drinks Company, said: “Our new contract with Aldi is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our flavoured gins and liqueurs to shoppers across the country, and will help to provide stability for our business in an uncertain climate.”

Aldi has also confirmed that the immediate payment terms for small suppliers it introduced at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic will be extended until the end of 2021.

The commitment means that the supermarket will continue to process payments for suppliers with an annual turnover of less than £1m with Aldi as soon as they are submitted.

The move will benefit more than 1,000 small British businesses in the supermarket’s supply chain.