Supermarkets have a near monopoly on British food. Is it time for change?

Supermarkets dominate 96% of British grocery sales – but new polling shows that more than half of Brits would prefer to buy their food at a cooperative or employee-owned shop.

Around 54% of people surveyed by charity Foodrise said the best way for food shops to be run is by cooperatives, meaning people-centred enterprises owned and run by members.

The most well-known example of this is the Co-operative Group but there are also smaller community-led food shops across the country.

Just 3% of Foodrise’s survey respondents wanted food shops to be run by the state and 16% wanted them run to be by private companies.

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Carrick Greengrocers in Northern Ireland is a community-owned food shop. Its co-founder Beth Bell said: “We came about as a result of a group of people in Carrickfergus being frustrated about the fact there was no greengrocer in the town. There are lots of supermarkets on the outskirts, but in the town itself, very few shops are still open.”

They worked with a cooperative development agency and raised approximately £34,000 from 434 members – with people investing small amounts ranging from around £25 to £1,000.

“People tell me that they’re uncomfortable with the monopoly of supermarkets,” Bell said. “They feel trapped in it or stuck in it. It’s important to have spaces like ours which provide an out. It’s giving people a way to break the hold that the supermarket system has on them.

“We’re not lecturing anybody. We’re not wagging our finger about seasonality. We’re just there in the town centre and creating an alternative that is so much better, feels so much better, and tastes so much better.”

Bell believes that supermarkets having such a stronghold over grocery sales causes problems both for “climate emissions and in terms of local money being siphoned out of local areas”.

Foodrise, which campaigns for a fair food system and climate justice, argues that the near monopoly held by supermarkets means that the government risks “failing” in its ambitions to protect public health and bring down the cost of living.

However, the British Retail Consortium contends that supermarkets deliver the “best and most affordable choice of food” to consumers, which is “particularly important for households on lower incomes who pay a higher proportion of their income on food”.

The government published its national food strategy in July – a plan to reshape the country’s food system – but Foodrise claims it puts too much emphasis on the private sector to drive the transition to a food system that will provide healthy, sustainable and affordable food.

The strategy reads: “Government has an important role to play in supporting and creating the right environment for investment, but the majority of investment will come from the private sector.”

Almost half (45%) of British people think that supermarkets do a bad job of both promoting local food products and helping people cut down on food waste, Foodrise found.

More than 80% of fruit and almost 50% of vegetables are currently imported, while an estimated 40% of all food produce globally is wasted.

Carina Millstone, executive director at Foodrise, said: “Our food and farming is controlled by 10 profit-hungry supermarkets, with devastating consequences for public health, British farmers and for our planet. 

“But our new data shows widespread public support for a different way forward courtesy of worker-owned food shops, which could help improve the nation’s health, while protecting the environment and making sure farmers get a better deal.   

“We need to see urgent government action to fulfil the promises laid out in its food strategy by compelling supermarkets to change their practices, while working longer term to dismantle their control of the country’s food sector. Ministers are deluded if they think these big businesses are going to drive the change required for a healthy, sustainable food system without regulation forcing their hands.” 

However, supermarkets have also been known to provide vital support to families to help them cope with the rising cost of living. 

As the Big Issue has reported, Iceland has its Food Club, offering customers small and interest-free loans. Aldi has free period products for customers in their toilets. A number of supermarkets offer free meals for children and have partnered with food banks to limit food waste and hunger.

Supermarkets, particularly discount options, are also more likely to have an affordable range of products than independent retailers.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “UK supermarkets work closely with their suppliers, delivering the best and most affordable choice of food in Western Europe to British consumers. This has been particularly important for households on lower incomes who pay a higher proportion of their income on food.”

Yet Bell adds that there needs to be some “myth-busting”. She said: “There’s a common perception that supermarkets are always cheaper. And actually that’s not the case. We do price checks quite often and find that some of our goods, certainly our staples, we’re able to match the price and in some cases are cheaper.”

Foodrise argues that supermarkets are undercutting British farmers by selling products below cost. Farmers earn three times more from alternative routes to market compared to selling to supermarkets. The charity wants to see regulation of this.

Julia Kirby-Smith, executive director at Better Food Traders, said: “The intersecting nature of food is both a challenge and a huge opportunity for the government. Rebuilding an independent food retail sector can help tackle multiple issues, including boosting our high streets and local jobs, building pride in our local communities, fair pay for farmers, access to healthier food, and a more sustainable food system. 

“Collaboration between different parts of the food system offers a powerful way to achieve change across social, health and environmental issues. Too often, government support focuses on just the production side or just the public health side. We need to put a new emphasis on supporting independent food retail, building stronger local supply chains and unlocking better access to healthy, locally-grown food for all.”

The largest British supermarkets are also profiting from consumers. The Food Foundation previously found that supermarkets maintained “stable” and “healthy” profits often worth tens if not hundreds of millions despite inflationary pressures during the cost of living crisis. Meanwhile, supermarket CEOs are reportedly receiving annual salaries of between £855,000 and nearly £10m.

Foodrise’s survey shows that 65% of Brits believe that a yearly salary of £1 million for the chief executive of a large supermarket chain is too high. Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy saw his pay more than double in 2024 to £9.9m.

Rebecca Tobi, head of food business transformation at the Food Foundation, said: “Although our food system has the potential to support good health, economic growth, and bring communities together it is currently wreaking havoc on both the nation’s health and the planet.”

She explained that the growth of large food businesses over the last 50 years has had a “huge impact on our diets, with supermarkets, food brands, and fast food restaurants often bombarding us with unhealthy options that are often cheaper than healthier options”.

“Fixing the system so that it better serves both people and planet needs bold and urgent action from businesses but also, crucially, the government, who are ultimately responsible for setting the parameters within which businesses operate,” Tobi said.

“Yet there is currently a striking lack of commercial incentives for businesses to produce and sell us good food, and a lack of regulation to ensure all food businesses do the right thing. The current government food strategy is a real opportunity for the government to step in and reset our food system before diet-related ill health and climate change continue to spiral out of control.”

A government spokesperson said: “Food security is national security. We need a resilient food system that can weather any storm while ensuring families across the country can access affordable, healthy food.   

“Our recently published Good Food Cycle is a recipe for driving a generational change in the nation’s relationship with food to build a stronger food system and support economic growth, health and opportunity as part of our plan for change.”

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