Britain’s leading high-end supermarket Waitrose joined the John Lewis Partnership in 1937; the John Lewis Partnership is the UK’s largest example of an employee-owned business; all 85,500 employees are partners in the business and have a say in how the business is run and a share in profit, which is awarded each year as annual bonus. In the John Lewis tradition they treat staff and customers fairly; Waitrose supports British produce with 1,400 locally and regionally sourced products from 375 suppliersand have expanded to 353 UK outlets, plusa numberof shops in the Middle East.
Waitrose’s prescience identified the current vegan lifestyle trend, they introduced a large range of meat-free foods in October 2017 and expanded their vegan and vegetarian foods this June. In fact Waitrose was the first supermarket to launch a dedicated vegan section, now 134 of shops have a vegan bay.
Two new sub brands, The Happy Pear—created by renowned plant-based and whole food chef duo David and Stephen Flynn, and The Vegetarian Butcher—a Dutch company specialising in meat substitutes, made using plant-based proteins, have increased the total vegan and vegetarian assortment by 60%, bringing the total range to 125 products. Since the launch, in the last week of July vegetarian and vegan sales were up 73%.
Chloe Graves, Waitrose Chilled Vegetarian and Vegan Buyer says“Our current selection of products has been selling really well week after week, with requests for more choice coming from our customers and partners, so we could clearly see there was an appetite to have more vegetarian and vegan options in our shops… With flexitarianism also on the rise, we have made sure we have dishes and ingredients for those looking to opt for a meat-free meal, that were suitable for the whole family to enjoy.”
Magioniveggie pizza with a courgette crust or a cauliflower crust are new favourites with both vegetarians and folks on a gluten free diet.
For Christmas this year Jonathan Moore, Waitrose’s executive chef who hails from a Michelin starred career, has innovated a 65% increase vegetarian Christmas food and a 100% increase in vegan food. Vegan options include a Fiona Cairns Iced Fruit Cake, a Beetroot Wellington in vegan puff pastry, Cauliflower & Broccoli bake (a bit like cauliflower/broccoli cheese), Parmentier Potatoes with Brewers Yeast & Wessex Stout, a Chocolate torte and Pulled Jackfruit Taco Canapés.
The Waitrose customer loyalty programme rewards members through tailored offers, personalised vouchers and the chance to win attractive prizes.Since 2015 Waitrose have developed an impressively successful online grocery business and exports own-label and branded goods to more than 58 countries including: UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, India, Ghana, Barbados, Bermuda, Gibraltar, Malta and Spain.