Tag: Waitrose

Animal Rebellion protest in Edinburgh

  • At around midday yesterday, supporters of Animal Rebellion entered Waitrose in Morningside, took milk from the shelves, and emptied it on the floor of the shop.
  • This follows two high-profile milk spills in Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges in London where two individuals were arrested and charged with £100,000 in damages

SIX Animal Rebellion supporters disrupted Waitrose on Morningside Road yesterday as they continue their call for a plant-based future.

Two protesters took bottles of milk from the shelves and emptied them over the store’s floor to highlight the need to support farmers in a transition to a sustainable, plant-based food system. 

Similar actions occurred simultaneously in London, Norwich, Manchester and Leeds.

Hannah, one of the activists, said: “Milk isn’t a viable product, it’s unsuitable for human consumption, it becomes unsuitable as soon as we exploit animals, deforest massive sways of land for unsustainable animal agriculture, polluting our groundwater and contributing more Greenhouse Gas Emissions than Exon, Shell and BP.”

The action comes as part of Animal Rebellion’s demands for a plant-based future, which were announced on 23/05/22.

The animal and climate group is calling for wholesale governmental support for farmers and fishing communities to transition to a plant-based food system and a programme of rewilding that will secure a future for generations to come by drawing down carbon from the atmosphere and restoring vital habitat to native wildlife.

Other recent actions taken by the group include disrupting the Queen’s Jubilee, running onto the track at Epsom Derby, and blockading multiple dairy distribution centres day-after-day at the beginning of September.

Animal Rebellion is a mass movement using nonviolent civil disobedience to call for a just, sustainable plant-based food system.

Dobbies and Waitrose grocery partnership launches in Edinburgh

Dobbies Garden Centres, the UK’s leading garden centre retailer, has marked its partnership with Waitrose by opening its first foodhall in Edinburgh.  

Featuring the supermarket’s wide range of high-quality food, grocery products, and everyday essentials, the Waitrose foodhall is one of more than 50 that are to be launched at Dobbies’ stores across the UK and which will bring Waitrose to 20 new towns and cities.   

Shoppers at Dobbies’ Edinburgh can choose from an extensive selection of products including the essential Waitrose range, which is the biggest value tier of any supermarket, plus its premium range – Waitrose No. 1 – and Waitrose Duchy Organic. Ready meals, free-from and vegan ranges, prepared fruit and vegetables, snacks and cupboard staples will also be available.  

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies, said: “Through a shared commitment to great value, quality and sustainability, Waitrose was the natural grocery partner for us as we continue to build on the success of our foodhalls in recent years. I am sure our first Waitrose foodhall at our flagship store in Edinburgh will prove popular with our customers.  

“Our foodhalls are integral to our garden centre ranges and the experience of our customers, and we look forward to introducing Waitrose’s offering across our network of UK stores.” 

To find out more about the partnership, visit www.dobbies.com.  

Waitrose is top of Which? supermarket rankings

 

Waitrose has been rated the best UK in-store supermarket again in Which?’s annual supermarket satisfaction survey.

Waitrose scored a maximum five stars in almost every category – from ease of finding products and fast-moving queues, to friendly staff and the appearance of its shops – and was only let down by a two-star score for value.

Waitrose has now secured the top position in the Which? rankings two years in a row – holding onto the crown despite the increasing popularity of the likes of Aldi and Lidl.

In the Which? survey of more than 14,000 of its members, Asda was rated the worst, finishing at the bottom of the consumer champion’s rankings for in-store grocery shopping. 

The consumer group found that shoppers like Asda’s range of goods in store, but clearly want more recyclable packaging and products without packaging, as the store received only one star for this aspect.

The survey revealed that Asda provides neither the noteworthy store experience of Waitrose or Marks & Spencer nor the value of Aldi or Lidl. Asda scored just two stars for the quality of its own-label products.

Marks & Spencer lived up to its reputation for quality when it comes to food and drink, scoring five stars for both its own-brand and fresh produce. Its overall customer score of 73 per cent places it just below Waitrose, not managing to quite match its rival’s superb in-store experience or product range. Marks & Spencer wasn’t able to match Waitrose for ease of finding products, queues or staff availability.

Aldi and Lidl were rated best for value, both receiving five stars. The two supermarkets are seen as the best for those wanting more for their money, with rock-bottom prices making customers much more forgiving of their less-impressive traits, such as long queues, or unhelpful or hard-to-find staff.

One Aldi customer said: “It’s not a pleasant place to shop, but value for money is exceptional.”

Morrisons and Sainsbury’s came mid-table, with Tesco sliding in just below and Iceland coming in second-to-bottom. Shoppers told Which? that they like Iceland’s value for money, but this was not enough to boost its score overall. The supermarket failed to impress with its fresh produce or product range, and got just one star for availability of recyclable packaging.

The Which? study also found that when shopping in store, people were most frustrated by waiting for help at self-service checkouts (26%) and by a lack of staffed checkouts (25%).

Ocado, the UK’s only purely online supermarket, scored highly in the Which? analysis of online supermarkets and was the only supermarket endorsed as a Which? Recommended Provider, but was not included in this analysis.

Harry Rose, Editor of Which? Magazine, said: “The quality of fresh products is the single most important factor for our members when choosing where to shop in store, and this is just one of the areas where shoppers have told us that Waitrose excels.

“There’s clear room for improvement for the ‘big four’ – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda – as they continue to trail behind Waitrose and M&S for experience, and behind Aldi and Lidl on value.”

Community facilities at Waitrose Comely Bank

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Local not for profit groups and can now book a free meeting room at Waitrose Comely Bank. The new community room is free of charge and can be used whenever the store is open, including weekends. It has a table and chairs and can accommodate 20 people. To book the room please call the branch on 0131 332 6312.

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