Mid Counties co-operative reveals all in Bourton-on-the-Water

A Cotswolds supermarket is set to become the UK’s first major retailer to make it mandatory for suppliers to tell shoppers where their ingredients are sourced from.

The Midcounties Co-operative in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, is making it mandatory for suppliers to prove and publish where they source their ingredients from in a bid to deliver consumer transparency through the food chain.

The food retailer is actively de-listing every food and drink brand across its entire ‘Best of our Counties’ range that refuses to have its ingredient supply chain audited and published for public scrutiny.

The event will mark a major milestone in the journey of Happerley, the organisation working on behalf of the UK food industry and consumers to develop and implement a means to secure provenance honesty and transparency, and empower the consumer to know the journey of their food.

Happerley QR codes will be available at point of sale across the store’s entire Best of our Counties range, ahead of a wider roll-out across hundreds of stores.

Those in attendance include TV presenter, author and farmer Adam Henson, Phil Ponsonby, CEO of Midcounties Co-operative, Matthew Rymer, CEO and founder of Happerley, and Peter Jinman OBE, Chairman of Happerley’s Advisory Board.

Phil Ponsonby said: “Transparency is a core value of ours and we are delighted to have supported Happerley from the start and believe this project will grow and grow. We are 100 per cent committed to it."

Matthew Rymer added: “Food and drink have become one of the most opaque industries where disingenuous branding, marketing and selective truths disconnect consumers from the truth they deserve. Consumers increasingly want to know the impact of their food and drink purchases and the whole industry can benefit by delivering a means to empower the consumer to know the journey of their food.

“It is the hope of our board that Happerley will now become the credible and trusted currency of truth across the entire industry. Moves to take the marque into an independent, not for profit entity are now underway.”