Tesco supporting Black History Month 2024 and its Black-owned brands

This Black History Month, Tesco is shining a spotlight on some of its amazing Black-owned suppliers, helping its customers celebrate the culture and heritage of the Black community throughout October.

Tesco supports and celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion all year round, but there will be plenty of exciting products and inspiring stories to discover with everything from African and Caribbean food and drink brands, to Christmas decorations and cards that include Black characters and books from Black authors.

As well as the online page on Tesco.com (www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/zone/black-history-month) allowing customers to view profiles and buy products from brands such as Port Royal, Here We Flo and Dalgety Herbal Teas, Black-owned businesses are being prominently displayed in a number of Tesco stores across the country, with their products that are stocked through the year. A number of these products are also available on Clubcard Prices through Black History Month, allowing customers to support Black-owned businesses and access great products at lower prices with a Clubcard.

This 2024 Black History Month activity falls under The Black Action Plan at Tesco which aims to achieve fair and equitable representation for the UK’s Black community across four key areas by 2030. The eight-year strategy which aims to dismantle systemic racism works across four pillars which are:

  • Talent (increasing Black talent representation at every level of the business)
  • Commercial (increasing spending with and the number of Black-owned suppliers at Tesco)
  • Community (directing more contributions to the Black community, supporting non-profits, Black-brands and Black-led organisations)
  • Brand (making Tesco a welcoming place to shop for its Black customers)

Since 2022, Tesco has agreed Black talent representation targets at all levels, continued working to accelerate attracting Black-led suppliers and more sales of their products, invested more than £1m in Black community initiatives and also directed a percentage of Tesco Stronger Starts grants towards the Black community.

Richard Stratton, Sponsor of the Commercial Pillar of The Black Action Plan and said:“We are happy to be celebrating Black History Month in stores for the first time with our customers, celebrating some of the great Black-owned brands we work with, and highlighting them on Tesco.com. This is a strong foundation to build on for future years and it’s really positive to see such great products and stories behind the brands, as we continually look to grow the offering and support the Black community more widely.”

Leon Donald, The Black Action Plan Lead and Tesco Category Buying Manager for Frozen Core, said:“It’s amazing to see how we’re supporting colleagues and our customers to be able to engage with Black-owned brands and experience the diversity and culture of Black History Month at Tesco. When we began our journey with the Tesco Black Action Plan in 2022 it was to address the barriers which disproportionately impact the Black community, so we want to continue making positive steps like this  by bringing in more Black-owned products to previously under-represented areas of Tesco, driving change across all parts of Tesco and investing more in Black community initiatives.”

Elizabeth Binitie, Varofoods Co-Founder, said:“At Varofoods, our mission is to share the love of Nigerian cuisine with the world, teaching people how to cook and enjoy the rich, bold flavours of our heritage. Partnering with Tesco for Black History Month allows us to not only showcase our products but also inspire customers to explore and embrace the diversity of African cuisine. Through initiatives like Tesco’s Black Action Plan, we are proud to be part of a movement that champions inclusivity and supports Black-owned businesses. We’re excited to continue our journey of sharing authentic Nigerian flavours and empowering more people to experience and enjoy them.”

A collaboration with Jacaranda Books will also mark the first time that Tesco features a publishing house under its Black Action Plan. Eight different titles from ten Black authors have been selected to celebrate and highlight stories, voices, and experiences from across the Black community, including the late Alford Dalrymple Gardner, who travelled from Jamaica to England on the HMT Empire Windrush.

Valerie Brandes, Jacaranda CEO, said:“At Jacaranda we are thrilled to collaborate with Tesco for its Black History Month event, spotlighting eight outstanding works and ten exceptional authors from our fantastic list. These titles represent the richness and diversity of Black British publishing, spanning a range of genres and unique perspectives. This partnership provides an unparalleled platform for Jacaranda’s authors to reach a wider audience, making their powerful stories accessible to more readers. As the country’s leading supermarket, Tesco’s support is a crucial step in amplifying Black voices and narratives through this celebration of independent Black publishing and literature.”

This year the Race & Ethnicity Network at Tesco has collaborated with many Tesco brands to deliver a Group-wide Black History Month. There are a range of events for colleagues to join across Booker, Tesco Mobile and Dunnhumby as well as across those working in stores and or Distribution sites. There was a festival at Tesco head office in Welwyn Garden City (on Tuesday 1 October) with Praisy Dlamini and Isabelle Dupuy, led by Christarose Maphosa who is the Co-Chair of the Race & Ethnicity Network, and an Innovation Buying Manager in the Commercial Team.

Across Tesco and its wider Group businesses, there will also be events and talks featuring speakers such as Dr Carlton Brown, Louis Smith, Princess Adegbite, Dorothy Koomson, Levi Roots and Andy Ayim taking place throughout October. To finish off Black History Month, there is a virtual panel discussion with Matthew Barnes, UK CEO and Sponsor of the Race & Ethnicity Network, alongside Abhishek Kulkarni, Chair of the Race & Ethnicity Network and Lead Marketplace Development Manager working in Online, to discuss the importance of allyship and reflect on this month’s events as well as initiatives Tesco run all year round for their Black customers, colleagues and communities.

As well as videos sharing Black Tesco colleagues’ experiences, social media influencers are also cooking up African and Caribbean meals using Tesco products to share with their audiences showing the wide range of tastes and cultures catered for at Tesco. More recipes to try out are also available on Tesco Real Food.

An interview with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, founder of The Black Farmer is also featured in the October edition of the Tesco Magazine.

More like this

Zoom cuts off 1,300 Employees

ISN Magazine

Zero-deforestation soy initiative underway with major UK supermarket backing

riad beladi

Zero Hunger | Zero Waste

riad beladi

Your Co-op boosts its sustainability efforts, implementing an AI-powered Prompted Markdown feature from Retail Insight

ISN Magazine

Younger men urged to get to grips with type 2 diabetes risk

ISN Magazine

Ynsect announces the construction of two production sites in the United States and Mexico

ISN Magazine

yamo, the European Leader in Fresh Organic Food for Young Children Announces €10.1M for Expansion

ISN Magazine

XYZ Tech’s New Barcode Reader Receives High Demand, Reveals Marketing Manager

ISN Magazine

X5 to expand footprint in Urals and Southern Russia

riad beladi

X5 Retail Group, Russia’s largest food retailer, has partnered with Sber and Visa to launch an innovative

ISN Magazine

X5 Group Q2 2021 Net Sales Increase 10.6%

riad beladi

Would Labour Renegotiate the UK-EU Trade Deal? An Analysis of Potential Changes

ISN Magazine