Sainsbury’s launches new dedicated supply group

Supermarket group Sainsbury’s and dairy co-op Milk Link are developing a new dedicated supply group for cheese, intended to supply the retailer with all its own-label Cheddar.

News of the development emerged at the recent Sainsbury’s Dairy Development Group (SDDG) annual conference, attended by over 100 dairy farmers who already supply the supermarket with its own-label milk.

Chief executive Justin King told delegates he had responded to a challenge laid down by NFU’s Peter Kendall a year ago and set up a separate Cheese Development Group. “We held our first steering group meeting in November 2008 with Milk Link in Taw Valley,” he said.

The aim was for Sainsbury’s to work closely with its suppliers “to identify key opportunities and challenges faced by the members”. Bovine TB and NVZs were two of the issues he mentioned.

Also speaking at the SDDG annual conference, NFU president Peter Kendall praised the development, which was in keeping with one of the key objectives set out in the union’s recent Survival Plan for British Dairying.

But he added that “while the wrapper looks good, we are yet to see what’s inside the tin”.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman later told Farmers Weekly that the group would operate along similar lines to the existing Sainsbury’s Dairy Development Group (SDDG), which provides a dedicated pool for the retailer’s liquid milk requirements.

But, unlike the liquid milk pool, the spokesman said the new Cheese Development Group would not pay supplying farmers a set premium for their milk. Instead it would limit itself to things like offering farmers laptops, providing them with training and organising discussion forums.

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