Partnering for Progress: The Future of Sustainable British Beef

Henry Blain, Head of Livestock, Sainsbury’s

More customers than ever want consistently high-quality beef with a reduced environmental footprint. Following a decade of research and development, embracing the very best in Aberdeen Angus genetics, Sainsbury’s proudly launched its reduced carbon premium beef. Partnering with ABP to innovate and grow their industry-leading integrated supply chain, Gamechanger, Sainsbury’s is committed to working with British farmers to keep great tasting, high-quality British beef in consumers’ baskets.

In a session titled ‘Ideas with Legs’, Henry Blain (Sainsbury’s Head of Livestock) outlined why the benefits it delivers for customers, farmers and the planet made developing a bespoke integrated beef supply chain an ‘idea with legs’ for the retailer. He highlighted the value and progress that is achievable when science is translated into practice, at scale, in a system where supply truly meets demand.

Recognising that its customers were demanding greater visibility of where their food comes from and expecting a consistently great-tasting product with a reduced environmental footprint, Sainsbury’s decided to explore the potential to influence the quality and sustainability of its beef through an integrated system. In a trial rooted in a rich history, the retailer provided some of its dairy farmers with genetics from the Kinermony herd of Aberdeen Angus, which belonged to J Sainsbury and dated back to the 1950s, in order to test the consumer response. The outcome was clear, increasingly positive customer reviews and a notable reduction in complaints.

This gave rise to Gamechanger and a vision shared by Sainsbury’s and ABP to innovate and lead – for the benefit of customers, farmers and the planet. Recognising that Gamechanger would need to deliver across all aspects of the supply chain in order to fulfil this vision and realise its potential, the partnership was further enhanced by the additions of Genus, Cogent, AgriWebb and Oxbury – each playing a key role in making the programme a success.

At the root of Gamechanger and its value are the superior Aberdeen Angus genetics developed with partners, Genus and Cogent, and used exclusively on Gamechanger dairy farms. Sires are selected with farmers and the end customer in mind, and the genetic progress being achieved is returning increasing value from farm to fork. The proof really is in the eating, and the results speak for themselves, with shoppers increasing their spend and loyalty in light of greater satisfaction with the eating quality and sourcing credentials of Gamechanger-produced beef. Henry referenced the glowing reviews left by Sainsbury’s customers, with one recently claiming that their steak was “probably the best steak we had ever tasted”, and showed the continuous improvement seen in tenderness (measured by shear force testing) from progeny of first, second and third generation Gamechanger sires.

In addition to the improved consistency and unrivalled flavour and tenderness of the end product, this programme enables Sainsbury’s to meet the consumer demand for lower carbon beef. As a result of best-in-class genetics, careful management and end-to-end traceability and assurance, beef produced through Gamechanger has a carbon footprint 25% lower than the industry average – a message the retailer proudly shares with its customers. Through genetic progress, Gamechanger cattle continue to achieve improved carcass weights at reduced ages – not only contributing to further reductions in their carbon footprint but also boosting resource and cost efficiencies on farm.

As well as being better for the planet, Sainsbury’s designed this supply chain to provide improved security and stability for British farmers. Through unique forward-pricing models, Gamechanger offers protection against market volatility and confidence to invest. Producers are equipped with advanced farm management software, free-of-charge, providing a wealth of insights and enabling data-driven decisions that benefit their businesses.

This principle of data-led action is consistent throughout the supply chain – from breeding and sire selection; to weights and welfare outcomes; eating quality and customer satisfaction – with continuous feedback loops from farm to fork, and vice versa. The Gamechanger team continues to learn and seek opportunities to do things better, whether that be how the cattle are fed, how the beef is marketed, or anything in between – with the benefit of integration being that every gain can amount to enormous value at full scale.

Sainsbury’s is proud of the progress being made – working with and for British farmers, producing amazing quality, delicious products for customers, and helping to look after the planet too. Many years of research and development are paying off at scale, and the success of Gamechanger illustrates what can be achieved through a clear vision and genuine collaboration, underpinned and driven by data. But this system will only ever represent a proportion of Sainsbury’s and the wider industry’s beef supply. With that in mind, Henry challenged delegates to consider how the learnings taken from Gamechanger could be applied more broadly to drive value at a whole industry level. He highlighted that whilst the Gamechanger recipe is unique, the ingredients are there for anyone to use!

That said, looking ahead, the ambition to grow Gamechanger is significant and exciting; and anyone interested in joining the network of over 800 producers is encouraged to contact enquiries@gamechangerfarming.com. We would love to hear from you!