The Red Tractor logo has this week reached a new milestone in that it now features on products with an annual retail sales value of £10 billion, up £1.5bn in the last 12 months.
The food assurance scheme, overseen by independent organisation Assured Food Standards, has achieved this under the tenure of outgoing chairman Colin Smith, who took up the post in 2003.
Much of the growth has been driven by the foodservice sector, which has grown by 50 per cent in the last year. All major retailers and more than 500 leading companies use the logo and Red Tractor is now attracting a high level of interest from foodservice operators supplying the leisure sector, as well as public procurement areas such as schools and hospitals.
David Clarke, ceo of Assured Food Standards, said: “As little as two years ago, we had no presence in foodservice so this is a important development for us.
“The Red Tractor logo is a simple shorthand for consumers who want to know that the food they buy meets strict standards of food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare, as well as a guarantee of origin.
“For food businesses, Red Tractor reinforces their messaging to customers about the importance of assured quality, traceable food that helps to meet their due diligence requirements.”
The announcement coincides with the arrival of new chairman, David Gregory. His role will start on December 1, when Smith will step down from the post at the completion of his successful six-year tenure.
The news also comes shortly after approval from Brussels of the plan by levy board AHDB to consolidate activity behind the Red Tractor logo.
Assured Food Standards is on the verge of launching its newly harmonised standards, from April 2010. These will see the scheme’s 78,000 farmers and growers will go live with standards that are for the first time aligned across all farm sectors, allowing a more integrated approach, particularly for mixed farms.
Gregory said: “It is an extremely exciting time to come on board. The £10billion is a major achievement, equivalent to double the GDP of Bulgaria and almost 10 times the sales of all DVDs in the UK. This figure is made only more impressive by the fact it has been achieved with minimum investment to date.
“Assured Food Standards has done a fantastic job in getting the Red Tractor logo on pack and in restaurants and we are very much looking forward to driving this momentum by continuing to work in partnership with the industry to take the message out to a much wider audience, particularly the consumer.”
No comments yet