Lidl has confirmed where two new UK stores will open this month. The discount supermarket’s staff will welcome customers through the doors of branches in Brough, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and Burntwood in Staffordshire.

Shoppers in Brough can expect their new Lidl to open on Thursday (January 15) while those in Burntwood won’t have long to wait as their branch opens a week later on January 22. The new branches are among 19 Lidl plans to open over the next eight weeks as part of a nationwide expansion.

Lidl announced on Tuesday that it was also renovating over 70 of its existing outlets to the tune of £43million. Changes as part of the store overhaul include new tills and bigger freezers to offer a wider range of products.

The chain is also launching new energy-saving features, such as chillers which use natural refrigerants and smart lighting systems that reduce electricity use.

Richard Taylor, Chief Real Estate Officer at Lidl GB, hailed the company’s commitment to delivering the best experience for customers and creating a positive impact for communities.

He added: “With this push, we’re set on winning more shoppers across the nation and claiming an even bigger share of the market.”

Market share figures from Worldpanel show Lidl made the greatest gain among the supermarkets over the 12 weeks to December 28. It added 0.5 percentage points to claim 7.8% of the market and saw sales growth of 10%.

In comparison, grocery sales at M&S were 7.2% higher over the 12 weeks compared with the same period a year earlier.

M&S sought to position itself as a challenger to the “big six” supermarkets on Wednesday when it announced an expansion of its value food item range.

It has launched more than 30 new value products this month, including core family items such as 500g and 750g packs of 5% fat beef mince and 1kg bags of frozen sweetcorn.

The retailer said sales of M&S value lines, including “remarksable value”, “dropped & locked” and “bigger pack, better value” items were up 20% in the third quarter of last year while the “remarksable value” range alone had doubled in size since 2023.

M&S, which is known for its high-end own-brand food products, claimed to be the fastest-growing grocer with families, based on till receipts data from analysts Worldpanel.

YouGov figures also suggest a three percentage point uptick over the last two years in families now likely to consider shopping at M&S Food while perceptions of value at M&S among families has improved by 10 percentage points over the same period.

The move from M&S comes amid a flurry of price promises by the major supermarkets as they compete to attract households struggling with rising food inflation amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Food inflation increased to 3.3%, up from November’s 3% and far outstripping wider shop price inflation of 0.7%, according to latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NIQ data.

Lidl GB’s chief executive, Ryan McDonnell, has voiced worries over the “a lot of uncertainty” surrounding this year’s festive advertisements due to fresh restrictions on product displays.

The new regulations state that post-9pm watershed television adverts cannot showcase products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS), which are also entirely prohibited from paid-for online advertising.

Initially scheduled to be implemented from 1 October, these restrictions have been voluntarily embraced by the industry from the same date, as the government delayed their introduction until next year.

This means a variety of products typically showcased in supermarket Christmas adverts will be missing from prime-time television slots, with companies’ own websites and social channels potentially being amongst the few places they can be displayed online, the Grocer reported.

Nevertheless, how these regulations will be enforced remains unclear, according to McDonnell.

Speaking to The Grocer, he said: “It would be an understatement to tell you that we’re obviously learning very quickly, and there’s a lot of uncertainty around what the rules of play are, and that’s across traditional media and social” He continued: “There’s no doubt we’ve had to engineer our ads differently and be a lot more conservative, because there are so many products and categories that fall under HFSS regulation. So, it’s going to be interesting. Obviously, with Christmas upon us and retailers increasing their media spend, we’re going to have to see how the market plays out. There will be some interesting learnings.”

Last year’s Christmas Advert dates.

• Lidl: November 3 2024
• Marks & Spencer: November 4 last year
• Aldi: November 4 last year
• ASDA: November 4 last year
• Waitrose: November 5 and November 26 last year
• Boots: November 6 last year
• Tesco: November 12 last year
• John Lewis: November 14 last year

Bakery items such as crumpets, scones, croissants, pains au chocolat, pancakes and waffles are all deemed junk food under the new regulations.

Sweet treats including muffins, flapjacks and mini rolls face prohibition, though icing and cake decorations remain exempt, alongside savoury bread and conventional loaves.

The limitations extend to sugary breakfast cereals such as granola, muesli and “porridge oats, including instant porridge and other hot oat-based cereals”, whilst snacks like protein bars, cereal bars and biscuits will also fall under the prohibition.

Food and beverage advertisements face bans if products are deemed “less healthy” according to a Government assessment system evaluating salt, fat, sugar and protein levels.

In reality, this creates scope for healthier product variants to maintain advertising rights, such as porridge oats, whilst excluding items like porridge products enhanced with added sugar, salt or fat.

Likewise, natural unsweetened yoghurt escapes the restriction, but fruity and low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais will face the ban. The ban, which came into effect in October, includes not only the obvious culprits such as fizzy drinks, energy drinks and lemonades, but also certain fruit juices, smoothies, milk-based beverages and milk substitutes like soya, almond, oat, hemp, hazelnut or rice.

Even chickpea or lentil-based crisps, fried, flavoured or seasoned chickpeas, seaweed snacks and Bombay mix are on the list.

From this point forward, television adverts for these junk food items will only be permitted after 9pm.

The restrictions extend to paid online advertisements for these products, in an effort to limit children’s exposure to foods high in fat, sugar or salt. The Government anticipates that this move will prevent around 20,000 instances of childhood obesity and eliminate a staggering 7.2 billion calories annually from the diets of UK children.

The Government’s impact assessment highlights that “overall the studies do find a clear link between food advertising and calorie consumption”.

Cheers and more for Bolgrad Winery in Odesa, Ukraine, whose bottles of fruity red and elegant white are proving mega Christmas hits captivating customers of Lidl GB. In a first for the UK and part of the supermarket giant’s championing of lesser known wine regions, Bolgrad’s Select Duo White 20 (£7.99) and Select Saperavi (£7.99) are flying off the shelves in stores, signalling the limited stock is set for a festive sell-out.

The bottles’ eye-catching blue and yellow labels feature the colours of the Ukrainian national flag and the dual pull of place and taste is proving a powerful one for wine lovers.

Bolgrad’s founder and chief executive Vitali Shmulevych, deeply heartened by the response, declared: “We are absolutely delighted to fly the flag for Ukrainian wines in the UK. Our wines bring unique styles and exciting grape varieties to the drinks aisle. Having Lidl’s support is very important.”

While wines from Eastern Europe are more common now in the UK, Ukrainian wines and their fascinating histories have been largely undiscovered so far. Bolgrad, a leading brand for the country’s still wines, grows its vines on 400 hectares of land in country’s south west near to the port city of Odesa.

An area known for its unique terroir here air masses from the Black Sea mingle with those from the Yalpuh freshwater lake creating diverse growing conditions and a microclimate with low rainfall and hot summers. The region is renowned for its ancient winemaking traditions that date back to Greek settlements at Borysthenis and Tyras.

Still wine makes up 29 per cent of Ukraine’s alcoholic beverages market, and in the 1950s the country imported and planted French grape varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Tairov and Magarach institutes of viticulture and winemaking then experimented in crossbreeding the varieties to adapt them to the local climate, resulting in the successful cultivation of now-indigenous grapes.

Bolgrad Select Duo White 2023 75cl (12.5% ABV) – £7.99 is a blend of Chardonnay and native Ukrainian Sukholimansky grapes creating a well-balanced dry white wine. The indigenous grape is highly aromatic and to the palate adds white meadow blossom and dried apricot to the ripe citrus notes of the Chardonnay. Chill for a refreshing drink or enjoy as an accompaniment to salads, lightly crumbed fish or zesty lime-spiked tacos. Bolgrad Select Saperavi 2023 75cl (14% ABV) 75cl – £7.99 is a medium-bodied fruity red, that’s softer and lightly perfumed with plentiful red fruits. A must-try for Malbec lovers, Saperavi pairs well with red meats or rich sauces during winter’s long nights, and is particularly good with seasoned spiced lamb, hard sheep’s cheese, and rich bean stews.

The work of employee-owned drinks specialist Kingsland Drinks is playing a crucial role in bringing Bolgrad to the UK, overcoming trade challenges such as logistics to create vital opportunities for the winery. The Lidl GB listing comes following a major drive by Kingsland to inspire retailers into expanding selections. “We are incredibly excited and proud to see Bolgrad wines on Lidl GB’s shelves – these two first listings are both high quality,” said Kingsland buying manager Kathryn Glass. “We have long been a champion of producers of new and interesting varietals from up-and-coming wine regions and this latest listing for Bolgrad marks a major achievement in placing Ukrainian wines into the mainstream. We urge retailers to follow suit and bring a wider selection of Bolgrad wines on to shelves to offer consumers the chance to experiment and explore the potential of Ukrainian wines.”

But wine lovers now need to move quickly, with a spokesperson for the store chain warning: “Both Bolgrad Saperavi and Bolgrad Duo were incredible additions to the Lidl GB November Wine Tour range. Proving to be extremely popular with our customers, there’s now only a limited amount left in select stores.” https://www.lidl.co.uk  https://www.kingsland-drinks.com