Waitrose to begin exporting to mainland South America
Waitrose is to begin exporting to mainland South America by supplying groceries to shops in Chile from July.
Following a deal with Unimarc, one of Chile’s largest supermarket chains, Waitrose will initially supply around 40 products to over 100 shops.
Foods will include products such as penne pasta, mayonnaise with extra virgin olive oil, stuffed olives and Earl Grey tea, as well as a range of cookies and truffles. Around half the items will be from the essential Waitrose range with the healthy eating Love Life You Count range also represented.
The latest export deal will result in Waitrose having a presence in 46 countries outside the UK. During the year ending January 2013, the grocer’s international sales jumped 20% year-on-year.
Never Miss a Retail Update!David Morton, Waitrose business to business director, said: “South America, in particular Chile, has a growing economy and we were approached by Unimarc to help meet the demand for more cosmopolitan flavours among their customers. The products have all been handpicked and tested by buyers at Unimarc and we’re really looking forward to seeing how they are received by customers.
“The past year has seen a huge expansion of our presence around the world, and we are always on the look-out for potential partners to help grow our global appeal further. Wherever we sell our products overseas, we find that the best-sellers are food and drink associated with Britain such as tea and biscuits.”
