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 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.
The full list of brands featured in the in-store and online showcase is:
- March Muses
- The Gym Kitchen
- YumChop
- The Black Farmer
- Here We Flo
- Port Royal
- Varofoods
- Dalgety Herbal Teas
- Wha Gwan
- Amandla
- Jamaica Rum Vibes
The selected titles from Jacaranda Books are:
- Becoming Muhammad Ali by Kwame Alexander and James Patterson
- Finding Home: A Windrush Story by Alford Dalrymple Gardner and Howard Gardner
- Stick To My Roots: A Music Memoir by Tippa Irie
- If I Don’t Have You by Sareeta Domingo
- Living the Dream by Isabelle Dupuy
- A Quick Ting On: Black British Businesses by Tskenya-Sarah Frazer
- A Quick Ting On: Afrobeats by Christian Adofo
- Bad Love by Maame Blue
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