Sainsbury’s Boss Warns: Without Clear Focus, UK Food Strategy Risks Becoming “Just a Vision”

At the IGD “Future of UK Food” conference on 1 October in London, Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s, delivered a pointed warning: the developing national food strategy risks remaining a lofty ambition unless government, industry and retailers hone in on clear priorities and execution.

Roberts acknowledged that the strategy is beginning to “articulate a vision that we can really rally around,” citing early progress—particularly in the health domain—but stressed that “this will remain just a vision unless we have a very clear focus and a plan for delivery.”

His message was firm: certainty over years and decades is essential for confidence and investment. Without it, businesses won’t know where to place their bets.

Four Critical Bottlenecks

Roberts identified four tangible barriers, all fundamentally about people, that need to be tackled decisively if the strategy is to move from rhetoric into reality:

Planning

He noted that farmers and suppliers are keen to invest—think reservoirs, solar panels, new processing capacity—but are held back by slow, cumbersome planning systems.

Workforce Stability

The short-term nature of workforce planning, he argued, leaves the sector in limbo. Farmers and suppliers lack the long horizon required for confidence.

Regulation

Roberts emphasised that regulatory reform must reduce friction, be designed with consumers in view, and gain buy-in from businesses across the chain.

Domestic Production

He called domestic production “a key un-locker” — vital for food security, jobs, and resilience, and a way to reduce reliance on fragile global supply chains.

A Crossroads For Industry

Roberts painted the food sector as being at a tipping point: “a time for urgency, focus and pace to drive collective action.” He urged greater collaboration and trust among stakeholders, saying that with those in place, “everything just moves faster.”

He also noted that the recent political reshuffle should be seen not as disruption but as an opportunity to double down and accelerate momentum behind what really matters.