Lidl has been quickly removing outdated product references to ‘fake farm’ branding from its website following an MP grilling earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Lidl, among other major UK supermarkets, was grilled by MP’s on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee over using ‘fake farm’ brands.
When questioned over the use of names including Strathvale Farm and Birchwood Farm, Lidl chief commercial officer Richard Bourns told MPs that the discounter “categorically” does not have farm brands in its business.
He explained: “We have Strathvale for Scottish meat in Scotland, we have Birchwood for British meat in the UK, but we do not have Strathvale farms and we do not have Birchwood farms.”
However, MPs were quick to point out direct references to the use of the word ‘farms’ on Lidl’s website, including on packaging of chicken, beef mince and meatballs, with one page featuring a chicken which referred to Strathvale Farm and labelled “reared with care by Scottish farmers”.
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Bourns explained that Lidl does not currently sell chicken from Scotland and said that “if there is a reference to Strathvale Farms on our website I’d want to take that away and correct it”.
He added: “We haven’t used farms brands for a number of years.”
Lidl said it stopped selling ‘farm brands’ in its stores in 2019, following customer feedback.
Bourns added: “It could be the case that our website is not up to date. We do not have an online offering but I can categorically tell you we do not have farms brands in our business, just to be absolutely clear.”
The discount grocer has since updated its website, with searches for ‘Strathvale Farm’ no longer leading to the same information noted by MPs on Tuesday.
A Lidl spokesperson told The Grocer: “Statements made by Lidl at the committee were all correct. Lidl does not have any own-label products with ‘farm’ featured in the name, having fully removed it following customer feedback five years ago.
“Customers navigating Lidl’s website via its product pages or its shelves in store will see all up-to-date packaging and branding.
“Any historic web pages featuring old packaging that appear via a search engine are in the process of being removed to ensure complete accuracy.”
It comes as Bourns, among senior executives at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose defended their pricing models before MPs in the latest inquiry into fairness in the food supply chain.
