0:00:07 > 0:00:11We've become a nation of supermarket shoppers.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15We buy a staggering 90% of our food from supermarkets.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Not everyone's a supermarket fan, but we do rely on them
0:00:21 > 0:00:24to give us the food that we want, when we want it.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Now that is a huge challenge
0:00:26 > 0:00:29and I want to find out how the supermarkets do it.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Whoa!
0:00:36 > 0:00:40I'm going behind the scenes with Britain's biggest food retailers.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43This may be the nuttiest thing I've ever seen.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45I've got exclusive access,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47to discover how they source...
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Let's grill one
0:00:50 > 0:00:51..how they make....
0:00:51 > 0:00:54No! Slow it down, please.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56..and how they move our food,
0:00:56 > 0:00:57on an epic scale.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02It's a massive operation.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10I'm tracking it season by season.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16And this time, how the supermarkets get us in the mood for autumn.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22I'll see what it takes to deliver a monster Halloween.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Got 1.8 million to go out the door,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26just over 500 full lorry-loads.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Find out about a revolution in British apples.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33How is a small boy supposed to climb that?
0:01:33 > 0:01:36I don't think you've thought this through, have you?
0:01:36 > 0:01:40I discover the truth about supermarket own-label pies.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Are they all made in the same place?
0:01:42 > 0:01:43Ah!
0:01:44 > 0:01:48And I'm let into a hidden supermarket world.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50It's like a supermarket but without...
0:01:50 > 0:01:51Well, it's got none of the frills.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53It's got no special offer banners. We've got no customers.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Supermarkets have a huge influence over our everyday lives,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02but exactly how they bring us our food has been hidden
0:02:02 > 0:02:03until now.
0:02:15 > 0:02:16Aye aye!
0:02:16 > 0:02:18That is a winner.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22I love autumn,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24and for many of us it's got to be the best time of the year.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27There's a bit of a nip in the air, you want to stay cosy,
0:02:27 > 0:02:29maybe kick the leaves up in the park.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Autumn's the season when we want comfort food, and warming up.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40And the supermarkets and their suppliers have a race
0:02:40 > 0:02:42on their hands to bring us what we want.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Harvest time makes it one of the busiest periods
0:02:47 > 0:02:48in the supermarket calendar.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58The supermarkets can use autumn as a chance to make a big deal
0:02:58 > 0:03:03about home-grown produce, especially the new crop of British apples.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06The supermarkets know that we want to buy British.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09In fact, a recent survey has shown that almost six out of ten of us
0:03:09 > 0:03:12would buy British apples if we could, and you know,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16when so many of us want something, the supermarkets will listen.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21They want to bring us more British. Trouble is,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25only about a third of our apples are home grown.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Since the 1970s, the supermarkets have piled the shelves
0:03:28 > 0:03:31with cheaper, sweeter foreign apples.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36Nowadays over a quarter of the apples we buy are one variety -
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Gala, originally from New Zealand.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45I started my working life in the food business as a greengrocer,
0:03:45 > 0:03:46nearly 30 years ago,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49so I've lived through big changes in the British apple industry.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Do you know that in the last 25 years
0:03:52 > 0:03:54we've lost about half of our British orchards?
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Well, as a greengrocer that absolutely breaks my heart.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00During that time the British apple industry's been in serious decline
0:04:00 > 0:04:03and we have all developed a taste for foreign imports.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05But the tide is turning.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19The UK's apple growers began to fight back about 15 years ago.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21We started to buy British again
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and the supermarkets now want as many home grown apples
0:04:25 > 0:04:27as they can get their hands on.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Theresa Huxley, apple technologist for Sainsbury's,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35is out meeting her growers.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38The size is a bit smaller, isn't it, than last year?
0:04:38 > 0:04:42She's checking they're on track with her long-term mission -
0:04:42 > 0:04:46to double the number of British apples she sells.
0:04:46 > 0:04:47It's a bit shy, though.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50They're just right for lunch boxes so let's have a taste.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Are you sure? Yeah, we've got to have a taste.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55Mmm, they're eating really well.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Do you want try cos we're so friendly? Go on, then.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Theresa's big idea to make British apple farmers more competitive
0:05:05 > 0:05:09is to encourage them to use a revolutionary new growing system,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12and produce our favourite Galas in the UK.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14She's brought me to an experimental orchard
0:05:14 > 0:05:17set up by Sainsbury's in Kent.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20This is the weirdest looking bunch of apples I've ever seen.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28They've still got traditional bushy apple trees in this orchard.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32When you see them beside these tall and skinny new-style trees,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35there's a striking difference.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38They're actually a, a system called table top.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40So what we've got is we've got, is we've got branches,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42which come out like a table.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44You've got one, two, three, four.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And then we have a tall column of the fruit.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48I mean, how do you...
0:05:48 > 0:05:50I mean, I don't even know where you would start,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53taking an apple tree and making it look like a funny one like this.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56We're managing them very carefully.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58We're actually quiet brutal, probably, you would say,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00when we're pruning them and, actually,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02we're only leaving four or five branches around here.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05But how is a small boy supposed to climb that?
0:06:05 > 0:06:07I don't think you've thought this through, have you?
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Removing lots of branches transforms much more
0:06:11 > 0:06:13than just the look of the trees.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Theresa gets more fruit because the apples get more sunlight,
0:06:18 > 0:06:19which helps them grow.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23This suits foreign varieties like the Gala
0:06:23 > 0:06:25which prefer sunny conditions.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29And she can fit more trees into a plot of land.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31The result is up to three times more apples,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34than from a traditional orchard.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37The secret is to allow the light onto every single branch
0:06:37 > 0:06:38so that every fruit
0:06:38 > 0:06:40has sufficient light.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Think of it like a sun-bed - you want maximum exposure to the light.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Look how evenly-sized the fruit is.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48That just doesn't happen. Why is that important?
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Who cares whether you get a small one and a big one?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54You supermarket people, you're not like us normal people.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58We don't think quality is all to do with shape and size, and colour.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01You like uniformity, that's what you.....
0:07:01 > 0:07:02Well, I'm focused on taste.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04I'm absolutely focused on taste, because...
0:07:04 > 0:07:07But you just said colour and size, was the most important...
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Yeah, but colour is directly linked to taste.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13If you can get colouration, then you've got more sugars
0:07:13 > 0:07:15and that will actually enhance the flavour.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Sainsbury's first trialled this system here in 2006
0:07:24 > 0:07:26and more and more of their growers are using it.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Now half of their British-grown apples
0:07:30 > 0:07:32are produced using this method.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36In 20 years' time, is every orchard going to look like this?
0:07:36 > 0:07:38I would suspect so.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40We're trying to substitute imported apples
0:07:40 > 0:07:42for local British-grown apples.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Is that true? It certainly is.
0:07:44 > 0:07:45Come here.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46SHE LAUGHS
0:07:51 > 0:07:55There's a lot of hard work gone into this. It's treating the tree
0:07:55 > 0:07:59as if it was a sort of high-performance machine.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02It's making sure that it grows so it gets the most sunlight,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04it's feeding it just the right amount of water,
0:08:04 > 0:08:08just the right amount of nutrients, to get the most fruit that you can
0:08:08 > 0:08:11from every scrap of land. It is very clever.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Theresa's here today to check if these apples are ready to harvest.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20And she's got an ingenious test to help her decide.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22This is an iodine solution.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25We cover the flesh in iodine
0:08:25 > 0:08:26and the starch will turn black.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Unripe apples contain a lot of starch.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36As apples ripen, the starch is turned into sweet-tasting sugar.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Sugar doesn't stain black when put in iodine.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44The Gala that you picked has got far too much starch.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46That's right. It's not mature enough yet.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48That's right, it won't taste good.
0:08:48 > 0:08:49Gotcha.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53What we're looking for is a balance between starch and sugar
0:08:53 > 0:08:55so we're looking more for this sort of colouration.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00The half-and-half colour shows the starch level is dropping,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02and the apple is getting sweeter.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04Can I taste one?
0:09:04 > 0:09:07You can taste one. They're ready for harvest.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12That's really sharp.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14I didn't say they were ready to eat.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17I said they were ready to harvest. There's a difference.
0:09:18 > 0:09:19Nice.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21The longer we wish to store the fruit,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24the more starch we need in the fruit.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26It's ready to harvest,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28but it's going to sit in storage for a while.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30That's right, until it's really
0:09:30 > 0:09:33got the fantastic eating quality that you would expect.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Theresa's happy that this lot of apples are ready for picking.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Every apple you must check about size.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48One apple and take.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51We put very gently and put in the bag.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53You watch me. OK.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54You watch me.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57Yeah.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01Very good.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03THEY CLAP
0:10:03 > 0:10:05When I buy apples in the shop,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08I just put them at the bottom of the bag, cos I....
0:10:08 > 0:10:09Oh, please don't do that.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Don't do that, because you must remember they're...
0:10:12 > 0:10:13Treat them like eggs, that's my advice.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17What, boil them for three minutes?
0:10:17 > 0:10:18No!
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Theresa's mission to sell more British apples
0:10:22 > 0:10:24doesn't just rely on how many are grown.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28She needs to keep the shelves filled with them as long as possible.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31As a shopper you kind of think, when the fruit's been grown,
0:10:31 > 0:10:32that's when the hard work finishes.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33No, no.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35No? No. It's just starting.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Later, I'll find out exactly how Theresa can supply us
0:10:41 > 0:10:43with these apples, months after harvest.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Autumn sees a shift in our shopping lists.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56It's a time when we turn to comfort foods.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01And one of our favourites is savoury pies.
0:11:01 > 0:11:07The autumn pie-eating peak can see sales surge by 50%.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Our top three pies haven't changed in recent years.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13It's chicken and mushroom, steak and kidney,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15and our favourite
0:11:15 > 0:11:16is steak pie.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20But what has changed is that the supermarkets
0:11:20 > 0:11:25are increasingly grabbing a piece of the pie for themselves.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Own-label pies are becoming more and more popular.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31In fact, own-label products in general are booming,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34up about a quarter in the last decade.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I've come to Wigan in the north-west of England,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47the self-proclaimed home of pies.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49After the recent horse-meat scandal,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52we're all more interested in what's in our meat products.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Do you buy pies?
0:11:55 > 0:11:58I want to find out the difference between a brand
0:11:58 > 0:12:00and an own-label pie.
0:12:00 > 0:12:01What do people here think?
0:12:01 > 0:12:04What I've got here, is I've got a branded product,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06and I've got a supermarket own-label.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08So, which one would you choose to eat?
0:12:08 > 0:12:11I'd probably go for the branded.
0:12:11 > 0:12:12That one, the branded one.
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Why?
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Because it looks better than that.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17You just assume it's got better stuff inside.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21The branded one would be better quality.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25The branded one. A supermarket pie could be made by anybody.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32This lot seem a bit sniffy about own-label pies,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36but around 70% of pies and pasties sold in Britain
0:12:36 > 0:12:37are own-label.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Are they all made in the same place?
0:12:41 > 0:12:42Ah!
0:12:42 > 0:12:44And then just stick a label on.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Is that what you think? Yeah.
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Well, she's right.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55Many own-label pies are made in the same factory as branded ones,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57but are they the same thing?
0:12:57 > 0:13:00I'm here at a factory where they make their brand,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02and the supermarket's own-label
0:13:02 > 0:13:03and they are going to let me in
0:13:03 > 0:13:07to a few of the secrets of the differences between the two.
0:13:07 > 0:13:08You must be Neil.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Hi, Gregg, nice to meet you, welcome to Pooles.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Neil Court-Johnston is the head pie man
0:13:14 > 0:13:16here at Wigan-based Pooles Pies.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21So we'll make on this line, 5,000 of these every hour.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Here, they're up to their eyes in pies.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30We make tens of millions of pies, whether it's a deep, a shallow,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34whether it's a square, a rectangle, we make them all here,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36so we make them for supermarkets in this country.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39We make them for supermarkets overseas.
0:13:39 > 0:13:4190% are own-label.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43That's massive.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Supermarkets' own brand is now 90% of your business?
0:13:45 > 0:13:47It's an enormous number of pies.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52This firm's been going for over a 150 years
0:13:52 > 0:13:55and these days things are buzzing.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57They also make fruit crumbles and pasties,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00but their main business is meat pies.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04In autumn, they make about 25 million of them.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06Is autumn a busy time for you?
0:14:06 > 0:14:08It's the busiest time of the year, Gregg.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Soon as the football season starts, we sell a lot of pies.
0:14:11 > 0:14:1582 pie kiosks at Old Trafford.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17A 28-tonne vehicle will take the pies on a Friday.
0:14:17 > 0:14:18They'll all be eaten.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24At Man United on a match day they are eating nearly 30 tonnes of pies?
0:14:24 > 0:14:26They are. And that's just Wayne Rooney.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Is the branded and the supermarket own label...
0:14:33 > 0:14:36They're exactly the same pies in a different colour box, aren't they?
0:14:36 > 0:14:39It isn't Gregg, no. There's a big difference between them.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41It's all about the ingredients in the pie.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43The supermarket will approach us
0:14:43 > 0:14:46and they'll know the product that they want for their customers.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Same machine. Clear down, reboot it with different ingredients.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51That's it.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53If the recipe wanted it,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55would you consider making a pie without a horse?
0:14:57 > 0:14:58Nay, lad.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Neil's been getting that joke for months.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06But his products have been tested and given a clean bill of health.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12To see how the ingredients can vary from Neil's branded products
0:15:12 > 0:15:14to the ones he makes for supermarkets,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17we're off to the test kitchen.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19The woman with her finger in all the pies
0:15:19 > 0:15:22is product developer Maria Yuste.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Hello, Maria. Hi, Gregg, nice to meet you.
0:15:24 > 0:15:25Nice to meet you.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28What's the difference between your brand
0:15:28 > 0:15:31and an own-label supermarket product?
0:15:31 > 0:15:35On a branded product we've a lot more freedom
0:15:35 > 0:15:37in all aspects of what the pie is.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39With a supermarket product you're making that product
0:15:39 > 0:15:41to the supermarket's price point.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43So they've already worked out a price,
0:15:43 > 0:15:44and then they say, "Can you make it?"
0:15:44 > 0:15:46That's right, yes.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49A retailer might say, "We want something hot and spicy
0:15:49 > 0:15:51"and Mediterranean for a pound."
0:15:51 > 0:15:53We take that challenge, put it into a pie.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Neil chooses to charge around 20% more for his branded pies
0:16:00 > 0:16:03than the standard-range ones he produces for supermarkets.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Well, here we have a selection of ingredients that go into pies.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Maria's going to show how they can adjust the ingredients
0:16:10 > 0:16:12to meet supermarket specifications.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17In a supermarket pie, you may have to use
0:16:17 > 0:16:21something like a margarine or a vegetable-based oil,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25where in a branded product you can go to all-butter.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Onions, you might use something like frozen onions,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30which are cheaper than fresh onion.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34The amount of meat going into a branded product can be higher.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37We always start with the dearest of the ingredients
0:16:37 > 0:16:41which is normally the proteins so whether it's a meat or a chicken,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45and we'll start to tweak recipes but literally just tweak them back
0:16:45 > 0:16:47until we hit the price point.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52But supermarkets do carry a range of own-label pies
0:16:52 > 0:16:54at different price points.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58In the 1990s they started to do three tiers,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01basic, standard and premium,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04so they could compete at the low and high end of the market.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Here we've got Damien and David, two master butchers.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Do cows get nervous when you walk past the field?
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Neil makes all the different ranges here.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18So, basically, three tiers of supermarket own-label.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Three main tiers, value, mid-range
0:17:21 > 0:17:23and premium.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27What would I expect to find in the economy?
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Economy, you're likely to find trim, and trim is product
0:17:30 > 0:17:33that is trimmed off premium cuts of meat,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35a bit more fatty.
0:17:35 > 0:17:36And the more fat, the cheaper it is?
0:17:36 > 0:17:37Correct.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42So top, top range, I'm basically biting into a pastry sirloin steak.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Bottom range, it's getting a little bit more gristly.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50That's right. So for a pie, what cut of the beast is the best?
0:17:50 > 0:17:53A chuck roll and a brisket are your best cuts for a good pie.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56And that's kind of like the front shoulder
0:17:56 > 0:17:58that doesn't do as much work as a back leg.
0:17:58 > 0:17:59That's correct.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05The meat in premium own labels will usually be from British animals
0:18:05 > 0:18:08reared in high welfare conditions.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12But economy fillings might contain cheaper imported meat.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17The economy can come from as far and wide as South America,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Argentina, Brazil.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Still very high technical standards,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25but mass-produced beef as opposed to welfare.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Basically, the more expensive the pie,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29the more meat and the better quality the meat.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30That's exactly right.
0:18:30 > 0:18:31Right.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Over 50% of the food we buy in supermarkets
0:18:38 > 0:18:40is now own-label.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46So it's been fascinating to get an insight into this world.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49I've always wondered whether the supermarket own label
0:18:49 > 0:18:53comes out of exactly the same factory as the branded products.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Well, in this case, they do.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59But what is interesting with these pies is they're not the same pies.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02The supermarkets have got their own specific recipe
0:19:02 > 0:19:04to a very strict criteria.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Same factory, different pies.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17Still to come,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21a new chicken bred to suit British tastes...
0:19:21 > 0:19:24You are playing high-stakes chicken poker.
0:19:24 > 0:19:25Yes, we are, yeah.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29..and a new breed of supermarket.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30Place it in the basket.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Oi, it's gone, where's it gone?
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Supermarkets spend a lot of time studying
0:19:45 > 0:19:47how we actually use their stores.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50They know that where they put their products
0:19:50 > 0:19:52has a big effect on what we buy.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55Have you noticed that every supermarket
0:19:55 > 0:19:58puts fresh fruit and veg in the entrance?
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Now, wouldn't it make more practical sense to put the fragile stuff
0:20:02 > 0:20:04at the end of the shop where it won't get crushed
0:20:04 > 0:20:06under the rest of your shopping?
0:20:07 > 0:20:12But there's a reason behind everything in the supermarket world.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Nick Grey is a retail specialist,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18who advises supermarkets on the best way to lay out their stores.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Why is the fruit and veg always at the front?
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Generally there's more space around the fruit and veg section,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26so it helps you sort of, decompress, if you like,
0:20:26 > 0:20:30and orientate yourself from that horrible drive to the supermarket.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32So this is a really good example.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Most people do this in a fruit and veg section.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38They will abandon their trolley and they go and navigate round
0:20:38 > 0:20:39and pick up a few things and put it back.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42So that means that the aisle width in this type,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44this section of the store,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46needs to be wide to accommodate that.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48So you don't come along and walk up behind and think,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50"Where's that lady gone?"
0:20:53 > 0:20:57Research shows we only visit about a quarter of the store.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01But most of us will pass through the main central aisle.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06It accounts for a huge portion of store sales.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11What you find in all stores is this, which is a gondola end.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Gondola... Gondola end?
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Gondola end, yeah, and, obviously, you can see loads of them.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18These gondola ends represent 40% of supermarket sales.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21You're familiar with the bargains being at the ends
0:21:21 > 0:21:23cos that's generally where they always are.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27And the other point, of course, is you're exposed to the ends.
0:21:27 > 0:21:28Pretty much all of them.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30So if you're navigating across the store,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32you will walk past lots of the gondola ends.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35I mean, a common complaint is that you keep moving things around.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38When I go in the supermarket, I go up to the staff and say,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40"Where have you hidden this?
0:21:40 > 0:21:42"Could you tell me where you've hidden that?"
0:21:42 > 0:21:43Often, things are moved around,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45but they're moved around for the right reasons.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47The thing that will have gone
0:21:47 > 0:21:49is something that is now not in so much demand.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51They're not doing it to annoy us.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Ultimately, that's the worst thing that a supermarket can do.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58They would hate to think they're annoying you. Yeah.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03The chilled section in British supermarkets is really important.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07It's much bigger than you see abroad,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10mainly down to our taste for ready meals.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15In the UK, we buy one in every three ready meals sold in Europe.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20But this area can pose problems for supermarkets.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25You tend to want to sort of get out of the chilled section, quickly.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27You don't want to be cold. You basically don't want to be cold.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Suddenly I'm warm and it's because above us,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33these hot air vents blowing down on us to make the aisle warmer.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Well that's... I love that. That's nice and warm.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44The freezer aisle can vary in position in different stores
0:22:44 > 0:22:48but people tend to visit here last, to try and limit defrosting.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53This is perhaps the most challenging aisle for the stores.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Why don't I like the freezer section
0:22:55 > 0:22:58as much as I like a biscuit section or a fresh fruit and veg section?
0:22:58 > 0:23:01It's a bit less engaging and it's a bit harder to shop
0:23:01 > 0:23:03because they're these physical cabinets
0:23:03 > 0:23:05that you've got to engage with.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07You've got put your hand into a cold thing
0:23:07 > 0:23:08and pick up something that's cold.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11It's very difficult to see what you're looking for.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12So you'll notice, looking down this aisle,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15that everything is signposted to make it as easy for you
0:23:15 > 0:23:18to find what you're looking for as possible.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Are the supermarkets desperately trying to make us
0:23:23 > 0:23:25feel good in the store?
0:23:25 > 0:23:29Yes, they spend a lot of time and money understanding what we need,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31and then they provide it for us.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33So these guys not only buy decent bananas,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36they're also fantastic psychologists.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Er, yeah. Yeah, they are pretty good.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43So the layout of our supermarkets has been carefully worked out
0:23:43 > 0:23:48to make our shopping as pain-free as possible and to keep us spending.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59SPOOKY MUSIC
0:23:59 > 0:24:03October 31st has become a monster event.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06The amount we fork out on Halloween in the supermarkets
0:24:06 > 0:24:09has gone up from ?10 million a decade ago,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12to ?280 million last year.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16And there's one product right at the heart of it
0:24:16 > 0:24:19that the supermarkets have got to get right.
0:24:19 > 0:24:20Pumpkins!
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Show 'em your fangs.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Show your fangs.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29That one is an absolute whopper.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31They might be a bit of fun to you and me,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34but for the supermarkets these are serious business.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39This is Pumpkin Central.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Field after field of weird orange orbs.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46There's a good chance your Halloween lantern was grown here,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51But we all want them for one day only.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55It's the biggest fruit and veg sale spike of the year.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59So how do you get millions of pumpkins ready to hit it?
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Natasha Beigly is the pumpkin buyer for Tesco.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06She's got a scary job...
0:25:06 > 0:25:10To get pumpkins to nearly 2,500 stores
0:25:10 > 0:25:12all around Britain on time.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15And she's a rookie at this.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19For me, obviously first year in pumpkins, I'm calm...
0:25:19 > 0:25:21I'm saying that on October 5th.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23I'm calm, I'm looking forward to it.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26However, you know, obviously you're buying
0:25:26 > 0:25:30high volumes of pumpkins in a really short space of time.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Anything can go wrong at any minute, in terms of ensuring the pumpkins
0:25:34 > 0:25:37are ready, they're the right spec, they're the right size, colour.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41How they're going to get to store, what store wants what,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45your promotional plan, you know, how you're really going to drive
0:25:45 > 0:25:47pumpkins and make the event bigger every year.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53Three weeks before Halloween, Natasha is here for a regular
0:25:53 > 0:25:56meeting with her main pumpkin grower, Steve Whitworth,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00to check her order of 1.8 million pumpkins.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03We're averaging about 3,000...
0:26:03 > 0:26:073,500 an acre, over everything that we're doing.
0:26:07 > 0:26:1015 fields this size, to do nearly two million pumpkins...
0:26:10 > 0:26:12That's a lot of work you've got in three weeks.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14That's a lot of pumpkins.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16A lot of pumpkins, and a lot of lorry loads to go out.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Natasha and Steve have been worried for weeks about something
0:26:20 > 0:26:23distinctly off colour with this year's pumpkins.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25They're not all orange.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Obviously, natural concern is that,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30would my customers want green pumpkins?
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Ideally, you want every pumpkin to go orange in the field,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36and, in a good summer, that is what happens.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38We'd be standing here, seeing this field,
0:26:38 > 0:26:39and it'd just be a sea of orange.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46This could spell disaster. Nobody wants a green pumpkin.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49The green comes from chlorophyll,
0:26:49 > 0:26:53the stuff plants use to soak up energy from the sun.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57This actually masks an orange pigment produced by pumpkins -
0:26:57 > 0:27:00the same one you get in carrots.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03As pumpkins ripen, the chlorophyll disappears
0:27:03 > 0:27:05and lets the orange colour show through.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Warmth speeds up the ripening process.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13But the weather hasn't been warm enough for the pumpkins
0:27:13 > 0:27:16to ripen and change colour.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20So, how do you hurry along nearly two million of them
0:27:20 > 0:27:22that don't know Halloween's on its way?
0:27:29 > 0:27:31How many pumpkins are in here, Steve?
0:27:31 > 0:27:33There's just over 600,000.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Steve has made them go orange quicker
0:27:37 > 0:27:39in a temperature-controlled glasshouse.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42The weather, obviously with the way it's been,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45everything's a little bit cold, so we're bringing them all under cover,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48and adding some heat to them, and then that's making, as you can
0:27:48 > 0:27:52see, everything then turns orange the longer it's in here.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54It's a precise business.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Too humid, and they'd rot.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Too cold, they won't ripen.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01So, he has to keep them at a steady temperature
0:28:01 > 0:28:04between seven and nine degrees.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08This pumpkin is perfect for my customers.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Natasha knows big orange pumpkins sell best,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14so she's relieved they're on track.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19But she now has a huge logistical operation on her hands.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23I'll catch up with her later to see if she can get almost
0:28:23 > 0:28:26two million pumpkins to the right place at the right time.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34In autumn, the days are chillier and shorter.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Our thoughts turn to roast dinners.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42Chicken is our runaway favourite meat.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47We buy nearly twice as much of it compared to its next rival, beef.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50Britain's poultry producers, like this one in Norfolk,
0:28:50 > 0:28:54are busier than ever at this time of year.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56Come the autumn, as the weather starts to get colder,
0:28:56 > 0:28:59it's not unusual for supermarkets to see
0:28:59 > 0:29:03a 15% or 20% increase in the demand for whole birds.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06And it's birds like these that are actually going to supply
0:29:06 > 0:29:08the increased demand.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10So, leg or breast, sir?
0:29:12 > 0:29:16We get through the equivalent of about 900 million chickens a year.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20And there might look like there's a lot of variety on sale,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23but under the wrapper, something surprising's going on.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Amazingly, even though we consume hundreds of millions
0:29:26 > 0:29:30of chickens, most of what we eat comes from just four breeds.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32Just four.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36The commercial poultry business uses two main breeds of standard chicken
0:29:36 > 0:29:41and two slow-growing ones, mainly used for free-range and organic.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46They have catchy names like the Ross 308
0:29:46 > 0:29:48and the Cobb Saso 150...
0:29:48 > 0:29:51the products of years of research by breeding companies.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58Sainsbury's reckon it's now time for a new British bird.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01But it's a risky business trying to persuade us
0:30:01 > 0:30:03to change our chicken choices.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10Judith Bachelor has the job of bringing a new chicken
0:30:10 > 0:30:14to the shelves that she hopes will ruffle a few feathers.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19She's in charge of all the own-brand products at Sainsbury's.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22I'm taking you to something very exciting, actually,
0:30:22 > 0:30:26basically to show you something that is a world first.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Ooh!
0:30:28 > 0:30:30I'm intrigued.
0:30:30 > 0:30:35We're in Cambridgeshire to meet chicken farmer Mark Galton,
0:30:35 > 0:30:40and to see a very unusual flock of birds.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43This is a brand-new breed of chicken that
0:30:43 > 0:30:46we've been working on for the last three years.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Obviously, it's black feathered, which is completely the
0:30:49 > 0:30:53opposite to the rest of the chickens available in today's market.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56Chickens reared for meat usually have white feathers
0:30:56 > 0:30:58or sometimes brown.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01This black-feathered breed will be a total newcomer
0:31:01 > 0:31:03to our supermarket shelves.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Mark got the idea from a type of turkey he was already supplying.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11We've been growing Norfolk Black turkey for a long time
0:31:11 > 0:31:15and supplying it into Sainsbury's, and we've seen that business grow.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17So much to say, really, that the Norfolk Black turkey is
0:31:17 > 0:31:21one of the accepted birds, you know, top-quality birds for Christmas.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23So, we thought, wouldn't that be good
0:31:23 > 0:31:25if we could have a Norfolk Black chicken?
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Can I get up close to the chickens?
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Can I have a look? Yeah, let's go and have a look.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35Has anyone ever been savagely mauled by a gang of chickens?
0:31:35 > 0:31:38So, it's a black chicken, which is different,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40but you don't sell it with the feathers on anyway, do you?
0:31:40 > 0:31:43But, if you notice, they've all got black legs,
0:31:43 > 0:31:45and that will make them stand apart from anything else on the shelf.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48And you want people to easily recognise it on the shelf.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50Yeah.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53But Judith wasn't immediately won over
0:31:53 > 0:31:56when Mark first pitched the idea.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59She had a problem with a black-feathered breed he showed her.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03It was a French bird, and it just wasn't a shape
0:32:03 > 0:32:06that we knew our customers would like.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09So, it had very skinny breasts, very long legs.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Its legs were too long and it was too skinny?
0:32:12 > 0:32:14Yes. You should have stuck a Chanel dress on it.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16SHE LAUGHS
0:32:17 > 0:32:20The supermarkets can be demanding customers.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24Mark was told that, to win an order, he had to come up with
0:32:24 > 0:32:27a breed of black-feathered chicken that suited British tastes.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30The trouble was, it didn't exist.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36It took three painstaking years of chicken matchmaking
0:32:36 > 0:32:38to come up with the new breed -
0:32:38 > 0:32:42crossing black-feathered females with stockier males.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44We've got some chickens here to look at.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47This is the original French bird, and you can see how
0:32:47 > 0:32:49it's got a narrow and a long breast,
0:32:49 > 0:32:52so there's not a huge amount of breast meat on that chicken.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54What does the British customer want, then?
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Well, the British customer wants something
0:32:56 > 0:32:59that has plumper breasts and smaller legs.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01This is the original skinny French bird.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04Yes. This is a standard fat-breasted British bird. Yes.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07And there is a striking difference between them.
0:33:07 > 0:33:12So, our challenge to Mark was, can you find us a halfway house
0:33:12 > 0:33:13between the two?
0:33:13 > 0:33:18It's quite clear to see there's not the huge quantity of
0:33:18 > 0:33:20breast meat that this bird has got,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22but there's certainly more than there is in this one.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27Your Norfolk Black has got the same elongated shape as the French,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29but it gets fatter round the bum.
0:33:29 > 0:33:30Yes, that's right.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36It's not just with the look of the chickens that Judith
0:33:36 > 0:33:38set very strict criteria.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41She wanted it to have a strong taste, as well.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Come on, then. Let's get one and kill it.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49The flavour of chicken depends on the breed, what they eat,
0:33:49 > 0:33:51and also their age.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55A free, ordinary free-range bird would be about 56 days,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59and we're growing these to a minimum of 63,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02because that gives us this added flavour.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05So, it's going a bit longer than your average free-range chicken,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09and you reckon you've got the... The balance right.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12Any further than that, and we'd start tasting like grouse.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17The brand-new breed of chicken is about to fly the nest
0:34:17 > 0:34:19and find its place on our supermarket shelves.
0:34:19 > 0:34:24If they sell well, it'll be a huge boost to Mark's business,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26but the project is a big investment.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30It's cost Mark over ?100,000 so far.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Ha! Look at that.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35Ah! About 12,000 chickens in here.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40Not one single chicken has got off a shelf yet?
0:34:40 > 0:34:42No. That's a leap of faith.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45I haven't had a penny back yet.
0:34:45 > 0:34:46That is a leap of faith.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49It represents a massive, massive investment.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53If this doesn't work, could this actually break the business?
0:34:53 > 0:34:55If it didn't work, yes,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57it would have big repercussions for the business.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00You are playing high-stakes chicken poker.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02Yes, we are, yes.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05How do you feel, honestly? Are you scared?
0:35:05 > 0:35:06I'm not scared.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09I am quite emotional about it, though, actually,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12because, when you see it like this, and you think all of the hard
0:35:12 > 0:35:16work that's gone into it, and, you know, it's a big deal.
0:35:16 > 0:35:17That's a big undertaking...
0:35:17 > 0:35:20I am emotional about it, yeah.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22It is emotional, yeah. Why so much emotion?
0:35:22 > 0:35:24It's a lot of hard work, isn't it?
0:35:24 > 0:35:27And you're a little business. Yeah.
0:35:27 > 0:35:28Yeah.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35There is a lot of responsibility on your feathered shoulders.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43Mark and Judith are gearing up for launch day.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45New chicks are hatching every week,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49so they'll have three months' supply waiting in the wings.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52This is a massive project. There's no doubt about that.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55There's over 100,000 of those chickens in the pipeline,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57and they haven't sold one of them yet.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00I didn't realise how much work it takes to put a chicken on a shelf.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04And it obviously means so much to Judith.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06She seems pretty confident that they'll sell.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11So, later, I'll see these chickens launched in store, and find out
0:36:11 > 0:36:15whether the carefully bred bird will take off and appeal to our tastes.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36It's not just new products the supermarkets are trying out...
0:36:36 > 0:36:39This is a branch of Tesco in Enfield, London.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41It's no ordinary store.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44It's one of a new breed of supermarket.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Look at this place.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48It is as big as an out-of-town superstore.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51But you'll notice there's no screaming kids
0:36:51 > 0:36:53and there's no trolley rage.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55And as I walk up and down these aisles,
0:36:55 > 0:36:57it looks to me like a normal supermarket.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59But there are no checkouts
0:36:59 > 0:37:04and no shopper will ever push their trolley across this threshold.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07It's actually a dedicated online store.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11We now spend around ?6 billion a year
0:37:11 > 0:37:13on online grocery shopping,
0:37:13 > 0:37:17so most of the big supermarkets are starting to open these.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20Paul Smith is Deputy Manager here.
0:37:21 > 0:37:22What exactly is going on here, Paul?
0:37:22 > 0:37:25So, Gregg, we're in a Tesco store,
0:37:25 > 0:37:27which we refer to as a dot-com-only store.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32It's purpose built to take the demand of dot-com
0:37:32 > 0:37:33out of the existing supermarkets.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36But, you know what, it's like a supermarket
0:37:36 > 0:37:40but without... Well, it's got none of the frills, it's got no sort of
0:37:40 > 0:37:44end-of-aisle showcasing, it's got no special-offer banners...
0:37:44 > 0:37:48Well, we've got no customers. It's purpose built for staff only.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55Most online orders are still sorted in normal supermarkets,
0:37:55 > 0:37:57but, since 2006, the supermarkets have been
0:37:57 > 0:38:00opening these in their busiest areas.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Tesco have five of them around the country.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06So, the guys I can see running round,
0:38:06 > 0:38:07are making up the dot-com orders, right?
0:38:07 > 0:38:10That's correct, yeah. Is it possible I could have a go?
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Of course you can. Really? Yeah. Is it tricky?
0:38:12 > 0:38:14No, no, we'll get you started.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17Just come over here and I'll put one of our watches on.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21It'll go over the jumper.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24This part with the screen tells us exactly where to go
0:38:24 > 0:38:26and what to pick.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28This bit here that you've got connected on your finger...
0:38:28 > 0:38:31It's a scanner. Scanner. Does it time me, as well?
0:38:31 > 0:38:35It does, it gives you a rough guide to pick at about 200 items per hour.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37200 items an hour?!
0:38:37 > 0:38:38It sounds worse than it actually is.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41It's only one product every 40 seconds.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Come and give it a go. You'll see how easy it is.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48So, if you can scan that zone there... That's it.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52Mod 26, shelf C, 1...
0:38:52 > 0:38:55So, 26... Shelf C...
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Hang on, hang on, where's this say 26?
0:38:58 > 0:38:59Oh, 26...
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Oh, 26! Mod 26.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Mod. Mod?
0:39:03 > 0:39:05A module, which is what...
0:39:05 > 0:39:06A module. Module 26...
0:39:06 > 0:39:08Yeah. C... Yeah...
0:39:08 > 0:39:10Shelf C. 1... Product 1.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12That's it.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14So, if you place it in the basket...
0:39:16 > 0:39:18It's gone! Wahey! Where's it gone?
0:39:18 > 0:39:21That tray's gone off to another location within the shop
0:39:21 > 0:39:23to have products picked by our team...
0:39:23 > 0:39:27So, I'm not making an individual householder,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30I'm helping to make loads of different orders. That's correct
0:39:33 > 0:39:36I don't have to trek around doing one person's shopping here,
0:39:36 > 0:39:40I just put products from this aisle into each order.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Conveyor belts do all the leg work.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44It's super efficient.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47Everything I need is around me.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49Yes, the way that the store's been laid out,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52we have the most popular lines nearest to the pick zone.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55So, I don't have to keep wandering up and down the...
0:39:55 > 0:39:56No.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01There are 100 of these so-called pick zones in this store.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05The things we buy most of are closest to where you fill baskets.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09And they make sure each zone has the same amount of top sellers,
0:40:09 > 0:40:12to keep all the pickers just as busy.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15So, in this zone, mostly what we sell is
0:40:15 > 0:40:18chocolate bars and bottles of wine. That's correct, that's correct.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23So, in this one, the biggest ones are going to be fizzy drinks...
0:40:23 > 0:40:24and chocolate.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26That's correct.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30We buy a lot of champagne and hairspray.
0:40:30 > 0:40:31That's correct.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33It seems like an odd combination.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36I'm loving this, cos I can actually see what the nation's buying.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40It is a snap shot into what the customers' shopping trend is at the moment.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47What we buy online is pretty similar to in store.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51Milk, bananas and, curiously, cucumbers are high up on the things
0:40:51 > 0:40:53we buy most of.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55But there are some differences
0:40:55 > 0:40:57in our online supermarket shopping habits.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01Because they deliver to us, we tend to stock up on heavier,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05bulkier items, like toilet paper and bottled water.
0:41:05 > 0:41:10No, it's one pack. A whole pack?! Yeah! Crikey...
0:41:11 > 0:41:13'Only 3% of our grocery shopping is done online,
0:41:13 > 0:41:17'but that's expected to double over the next three years.'
0:41:17 > 0:41:18Don't work very well, does it, this?
0:41:18 > 0:41:20I think it's cos we're slow.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23Sorry? It's cos we're slow...
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Paul and his team have a lot of packing ahead,
0:41:28 > 0:41:30but I'm not sure they'll be signing me up to join them.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39'Theresa Huxley is Sainsbury's apple guru.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42'She's been working with growers to boost the amount of British-grown apples on our shelves.'
0:41:42 > 0:41:48..With the weather we've experienced during the summer. Let's have a look.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50'But growing more is only the start.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54'She now needs to keep the shops supplied with them as long as possible.'
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Theresa! Morning.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06'At this packing centre in Kent, they're getting apples ready for the shops.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10'Apples that were harvested three-and-a-half months ago, when we last met.'
0:42:10 > 0:42:14I love this. What is this? Just looks like a giant apple-bobbing.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18This is a water flume, to carry the apples through to the grading machine.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21We put them in water because it actually is really gentle
0:42:21 > 0:42:24because we don't want to bruise those apples.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28Over a million apples will go through this site in a day.
0:42:28 > 0:42:34Which apples are these? These are Royal Gala, they're the same variety that you helped harvest.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38I love a bathful of apples moving along slowly, don't you? I want to get in there with 'em.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40Oh, do you want me to give you a leg up(?)
0:42:43 > 0:42:48'The longer Theresa can fill the shelves with British apples, the more she sells.
0:42:48 > 0:42:53'But they all have to be picked around the same time.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56'So she's had to find a way to store the apples
0:42:56 > 0:43:00'to keep the shops supplied long after harvest.'
0:43:00 > 0:43:03So how difficult is it to store apples? Not that difficult, surely?
0:43:03 > 0:43:07Oh, no, it's a very complex process, don't underestimate it.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10It's not like storing a can of baked beans
0:43:10 > 0:43:14when you put the cans in the cupboard and they'll stay like that for ever.
0:43:18 > 0:43:19Enormous!
0:43:23 > 0:43:28'At the other end of the packing plant is a hi-tech storage centre,
0:43:28 > 0:43:32'chock-full of apples from dozens of different orchards.'
0:43:32 > 0:43:33It's very cold in here.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36And it's even colder in those stores.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38How many apples in each fridge?
0:43:38 > 0:43:42There's about 1.5 million. Enormous, these bins.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44It's almost frightening.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51'The storage manager is Chris Lynch.'
0:43:51 > 0:43:53That is a great big door. It's a huge door.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57It looks like a safe, it's like Fort Knox of fruit.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59What we have in here, we have a store of Gala apples,
0:43:59 > 0:44:03they've been in the store three-and-a-half months.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07I feel like we're opening up Tutankhamen's tomb or something.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09It's a bit like that, isn't it? We can now open the store.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19So, what you have here is 600 of these bins...
0:44:19 > 0:44:20You remember these bins in the field?
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Were they the actual bins? They're the actual bins that we were packing.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27There we go. They look pretty good to me. Theresa. Thank you.
0:44:27 > 0:44:32How do you keep them for nearly four months?
0:44:32 > 0:44:35What we do is we put them into a very, very large refrigerator.
0:44:35 > 0:44:41You change the air within the store - not the normal air that you breathe in every day of the year,
0:44:41 > 0:44:4721% is the normal oxygen level that you breathe, we reduce it to 1%.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50You wouldn't exist in there. We're almost putting the apple to sleep.
0:44:52 > 0:44:57'That little oxygen would put you and me to sleep for good.
0:44:57 > 0:45:03'But for apples, it's this gas which makes them ripen and eventually rot.'
0:45:03 > 0:45:07We're slowing down that natural process, but the fruit is gradually maturing.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10It's ripening slowly, ripening slowly.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14You can slow it down, you can't stop it, right? You can't stop it and you wouldn't want to.
0:45:14 > 0:45:19If you stopped it maturing completely it would die. And we don't want to kill it.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24So would I get longer life out of my apples if I put them in the fridge at home?
0:45:24 > 0:45:27Yes, I'd definitely recommend you keep your apples in the fridge
0:45:27 > 0:45:31and then bring out as many apples as you're going to consume in that day.
0:45:31 > 0:45:35We don't, do we? But you should do.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37Apples in the fridge. That's right. Cheers.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39Now, let's have a...
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Yeah. Sweet, juicy and crisp. Very good.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50'Apples aren't on the shelves long enough in the supermarkets
0:45:50 > 0:45:54'to justify the expense of putting them in fridges,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56'but it's a good tip for where to keep them at home.'
0:45:56 > 0:45:59When will they be in the shops? They'll be in the shops tomorrow.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04'The other storerooms will remain sealed shut
0:46:04 > 0:46:07'until the apples inside reach THEIR peak ripeness.'
0:46:10 > 0:46:13'Up on the roof of those sealed stores,
0:46:13 > 0:46:15'they regularly fish out test samples
0:46:15 > 0:46:18'to keep an eye on how well they're lasting.
0:46:22 > 0:46:23'The samples go to a lab
0:46:23 > 0:46:26'where they're tested for sweetness and crunchiness.'
0:46:28 > 0:46:31This machine measures the resistance.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34And you want quite a bit of pressure don't you, otherwise it's spongy?
0:46:34 > 0:46:37That's right.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40'The crunchiness in apples comes from the hard starch,
0:46:40 > 0:46:44'so as the apple ripens and the starch turns to sugar,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47'the apple gets sweeter but it also gets softer.'
0:46:47 > 0:46:51Is an apple, when you first harvest it... Has it got plenty of crunchiness,
0:46:51 > 0:46:53but as the sweetness comes in it may lose it?
0:46:53 > 0:46:59Is that what you're doing, is the sweetness going up and the crunchiness coming down? Yes. Yes.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02Wow! There's so much going on here.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09'So the apples can't stay in storage too long, or they'll lose their crunch.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11'But as long as Theresa keeps a careful eye on them,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14'she can supply British apples for nine months of the year.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16Well, I think that this year
0:47:16 > 0:47:21we should be able to probably go till the end of April.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24And how far away from all-year-round British apples are we?
0:47:24 > 0:47:30I reckon that probably within the next six years we'll have got it sorted.
0:47:31 > 0:47:37'Apple boffins are now experimenting with tweaking the oxygen level up and down during storage,
0:47:37 > 0:47:42'and they can use other gases to help keep the apples crunchier.
0:47:42 > 0:47:47'The mission continues to bring us more British apples for longer.'
0:47:47 > 0:47:49People want to buy home-grown apples.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53And the supermarkets are finding new ways to make more British apples available to us.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56And they're doing it by growing them as an intensively farmed crop,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59which is very new for apple-growing over here, and then they're
0:47:59 > 0:48:03taking a very old-fashioned idea of saving the excess for later.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06But it is the science and the precision behind it
0:48:06 > 0:48:09which is making these apples available to us on an epic scale.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26'It's ten days to Halloween,
0:48:26 > 0:48:29'and back at one of Britain's biggest pumpkin patches
0:48:29 > 0:48:35'near Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, Tesco's order is ripe and ready to go.
0:48:35 > 0:48:41'Grower Steve Whitworth has a logistical marathon to run.'
0:48:41 > 0:48:44This is busy, this is it now. We're loading lorries
0:48:44 > 0:48:46sort of all day every day.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48We've got 1.8 million to go out the door,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51which is just over 500 full lorry loads.
0:48:54 > 0:49:00'Pumpkins are a hugely important product to the supermarkets, and they're tricky to get right.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02'No-one wants a pumpkin a day after Halloween,
0:49:02 > 0:49:05'and the stores can't run out too early.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08'Natasha Beigly from Tesco has to predict
0:49:08 > 0:49:13'how many pumpkins she needs, and exactly when we are likely to buy them.'
0:49:13 > 0:49:17We really analyse the numbers in terms of what customers bought
0:49:17 > 0:49:20from where last year, what they're going to buy this year
0:49:20 > 0:49:24and there's different external factors that impact that.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28Halloween is on the Wednesday, that week is school holidays, so
0:49:28 > 0:49:33families are going to have more time to spend doing creative events.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36So because it's a Wednesday and it's half term, you expect to sell more? Yeah.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40'Taking into account the quirks of this year's calendar, Natasha
0:49:40 > 0:49:44'has forecast the date our pumpkin purchasing will reach its peak.'
0:49:44 > 0:49:47This is what we're expecting this year,
0:49:47 > 0:49:51so this is the weekend before Halloween, is where we expect to get our peak.
0:49:51 > 0:49:56So at this point here they're walking through the store, they're seeing them and planning them...
0:49:56 > 0:49:59it's now made it onto their shopping lists about there,
0:49:59 > 0:50:02here at the weekend's when they're going to buy them? Yeah.
0:50:06 > 0:50:11'But it's not enough for Natasha to know how many pumpkins she's going to sell and when -
0:50:11 > 0:50:14'she's got to have them in the right place.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18'She has to try and predict the precise pumpkin sales pattern
0:50:18 > 0:50:25'for each and every one of Tesco's 2,400 stores around the whole of the UK.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28'And it's the job of depots like this one in Peterborough
0:50:28 > 0:50:30'to take in deliveries of pumpkins from the farm
0:50:30 > 0:50:33'and distribute them to individual branches.'
0:50:39 > 0:50:42'You'd think loads of giant pumpkins would be easy to spot.
0:50:42 > 0:50:46'But this place is so vast, I'm struggling to find them.'
0:50:46 > 0:50:48Here they are!
0:50:48 > 0:50:51'Why didn't they tell me to look under P?'
0:50:51 > 0:50:54Here are the pumpkins. But this is only a small amount.
0:50:54 > 0:50:59Do you know, 200 of these boxes are going out today, 200.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03This one's going to the superstore in Thetford, so
0:51:03 > 0:51:08Mrs Jones, 27 Arlington Street, Thetford - this one's yours.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18What fascinates me
0:51:18 > 0:51:21is how they've worked out in advance how many they're going to sell.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't even know WHERE
0:51:24 > 0:51:26I'm going to get a pumpkin for the kids, let alone when.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30But they think they do. And they seem pretty confident.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40'So, has Natasha pulled it off?
0:51:40 > 0:51:45'It's two days before Halloween, just after her predicted weekend sales spike.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48'I want to know if she got the right number of pumpkins
0:51:48 > 0:51:51'in the right stores, at the right time.'
0:51:51 > 0:51:55Natasha. Halloween's obviously in full swing.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57It is, it's here.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59This is the Monday after your big weekend.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02Did we get the spike that you predicted?
0:52:02 > 0:52:04We got our expected spike,
0:52:04 > 0:52:07it was even bigger than we expected this year.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Crikey. You were expecting to sell 1.8 million.
0:52:09 > 0:52:111.8 million,
0:52:11 > 0:52:14and we've now increased that to just over 2 million.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16An extra 200,000 pumpkin.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23'Luckily, Natasha had a reserve order with her grower Steve.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26'She had first refusal on his extras, and snapped them up.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30'Halloween really is growing.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34'They've sold 20% more pumpkins than last year.'
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Any particular stores do anything abnormal?
0:52:36 > 0:52:39Sandhurst is our biggest store for selling pumpkins, yep,
0:52:39 > 0:52:42they have topped the list of pumpkin sales this year.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46Good to know that people with Range Rovers and wellies buy more pumpkins than other people.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51'A bumper year for pumpkins is almost over.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55'But in just a couple of weeks, Natasha will start work
0:52:55 > 0:52:59'forecasting and planning for all our Halloween parties next year.'
0:53:06 > 0:53:10'6.00am, and a big day for Sainsbury's.
0:53:10 > 0:53:17'250 stores have got delivery of their Norfolk Black chicken.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20'The new black-feathered breed, three years in the making,
0:53:20 > 0:53:24'is going on sale for the first time.'
0:53:24 > 0:53:27Our new range chicken. They look fabulous.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31'This is the supermarket's biggest thing in chicken
0:53:31 > 0:53:35'since the launch of organic 15 years ago.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37'And they're using all the tricks of the trade
0:53:37 > 0:53:41'to attract our attention to them, like these large labels called barkers.'
0:53:41 > 0:53:44The new promotion just barks up at you.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47They just stand out, they jump up at you.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51'I'm here to see the birds make their debut,
0:53:51 > 0:53:55'along with Judith Bachelor, Sainsbury's Director of Own Brand Products.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59'The chickens are a big gamble for her supplier Mark Galton,
0:53:59 > 0:54:03'and it's a step into the unknown for Judith too.'
0:54:03 > 0:54:04Cos it's something brand-new
0:54:04 > 0:54:07we haven't got what we would normally have, which is
0:54:07 > 0:54:10the sales history of the product, so we would know roughly, if it
0:54:10 > 0:54:14was a similar product, what to sell, therefore we'd know what to order.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18So this is all up for grabs. Tricky.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20Yeah. Tricky!
0:54:20 > 0:54:23Got to have a look, come on, come on.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31There they are. So there they are, look at them. Look at that.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34Now you've finally seen it on the shelves,
0:54:34 > 0:54:38can I ask you honestly how this makes you feel?
0:54:38 > 0:54:42I'm pleased, actually. It delivers what I hoped it would deliver,
0:54:42 > 0:54:44which is a bird that looks different
0:54:44 > 0:54:48so it's obviously a different shape because of the breed
0:54:48 > 0:54:52and it really stands out, so as a customer I'm not going to miss this.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55You did a lot of work to make sure you had the black legs
0:54:55 > 0:54:59so it looked different. Yeah. But you can't see the black leg on the chicken!
0:54:59 > 0:55:03But what customers do tend to do is pick the whole birds up,
0:55:03 > 0:55:08so once they pick the bird up they will realise that actually it is quite different.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10Do you think that's so unusual it might be a bit ugly?
0:55:10 > 0:55:14I guess for those people who aren't used to it it'll be something different.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16I knew this one as a chick.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19You probably did, actually, you've probably seen that bird.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26'So, how will this different-looking chicken,
0:55:26 > 0:55:30'the priciest on Sainsbury's shelves, go down with the public?'
0:55:30 > 0:55:32If this doesn't work, will you be making the tea(?)
0:55:32 > 0:55:34SHE LAUGHS
0:55:34 > 0:55:36Come on, love, I want to talk to you. Come on, hurry up.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40Can I show you something? Yeah. Hold onto that. Have a look at that.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Is there anything you notice that's different about that chicken? Yeah, the price.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49Doesn't look any different? Er... It's got black legs.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52Bit of a put-off, to be honest. Is it? Yeah.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Ooh, no, it would just put me off if I saw that.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58Keep it round that way!
0:55:58 > 0:56:02Does that look any different to you? Er... Different colour? Black, is it, are they usually black?
0:56:02 > 0:56:04No, they're not. No, they're not.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06They're brown or white.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08So, do you like this?
0:56:08 > 0:56:11Yeah, it looks good. I won't know until I cook it.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17'Well, they've had a mixed reaction here.
0:56:17 > 0:56:22'But Judith is happy with early sales, which exceeded her targets.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26'The real test for any new product though, is not its first launch,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29'it's whether we keep coming back for more.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33'It'll be months before Judith can guarantee that this new chicken is here to stay.'
0:56:35 > 0:56:37It's amazing, really.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40All of that effort just to put a chicken on a shelf
0:56:40 > 0:56:42and if you think about it, that chicken is one of
0:56:42 > 0:56:44tens of thousands of products in here.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50'I've had a real sense of what it takes
0:56:50 > 0:56:53'to bring us our autumn staples.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56'Suppliers working round the clock, and taking risks.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02'Supermarkets setting strict specifications -
0:57:02 > 0:57:07'and finding ways to deliver what we want, when we want it.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12'Coming soon, Christmas -
0:57:12 > 0:57:17'and the supermarkets are gearing up for the biggest event of their year.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21'I'll see what it takes to deliver millions of turkeys...'
0:57:21 > 0:57:25There's hours and hours' worth of work here! I hate turkeys.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29'..find out about the battle to make sprouts a crowd-pleaser...'
0:57:29 > 0:57:31Lots of bitterness, lots of iron.
0:57:31 > 0:57:33Oh, that's like drinking petrol.
0:57:33 > 0:57:38'..and reveal how they make sure we've got enough of our favourite Christmas tipple.'
0:57:38 > 0:57:41That's like a great big paddling pool.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd