A new documentary series will go behind the scenes for a year in the life of Sainsbury’s.
The BBC programme, which has the working title Inside The Supermarket, will follow the pivotal points of the retail calendar, including the run-up to Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day and the summer holidays.
The six hour-long episodes will follow Sainsbury’s employees from one of its biggest supermarkets, Hedge End in Southampton which has over 600 employees, to the company’s London headquarters and its busiest northern depot at Haydock Park, Merseyside, which delivers 1.4 million crates of produce to stores every week.
It comes as the supermarket is celebrating its 150th birthday.
Cameras will follow as the team scour Britain for the next big food product, hunt down small suppliers who could see their fortunes transformed if they are stocked on supermarket shelves and meet a fashion graduate who, during her first year out of university, launches her clothing collection to the supermarket’s 26 million customers.
Emily Smith, commissioning editor of documentaries at the BBC, said: “This is a really interesting time for retail as a whole, and for supermarkets in particular.
“We all know Sainsbury’s but we have little knowledge of all the challenges and decision-making that happens behind the shelves.
“In this exciting time for retail, this multi-layered series will give us a fascinating and enjoyable insight into how Sainsbury’s staff navigate the ever-changing variables they’re faced from HQ to the shop floor – from changes in consumer behaviour and the supply chain to the growing competition.”
Will Smith, executive producer at ITN Productions, the production company that will make the show said: “We all shop in supermarkets like Sainsbury’s every week, but rush in and out with no thought of what goes on behind the scenes to put food on the shelves and on our tables.
“From day-to-day forecasting and firefighting, we will follow the Supply Chain as they react to major events from heatwaves to summer holidays and back to school to the run up to Christmas.
“This series will provide a unique picture of the British supermarket shopper – when we buy, how we buy and what we buy.”