Booths, Britain’s oldest family-owned supermarket, which has traded since 1847, has announced a major evolution of its brand identity and a strategic push to expand beyond its traditional store estate. The upmarket Northern grocer, founded in Blackpool by Edwin Henry Booth, has introduced the new identity line “The Family Grocers” as part of a refreshed visual identity.

This includes a richer “Booths Blue” colour and greater prominence for its iconic lion logo, intended to reinforce the brand’s heritage, trust, and quality. The changes, described as an evolution rather than a complete overhaul, will be rolled out across stores, packaging, and digital platforms throughout 2026. They were developed with brand consultancy The Strategy Shop and design partner Smith.

Emma Booth, chief brand officer and sixth-generation family member, said the move would allow the company to reach more customers while remaining true to its roots.

She explained: “We see a significant opportunity to take what makes Booths special and share it with more customers beyond our store estate. This evolution gives us a clearer and more confident platform to grow the brand into new channels and markets, particularly through our Booths brand ranges, while staying true to the quality and provenance that have defined Booths since 1847.”

Booths aims to position itself as “the irresistible food and drink specialist” in the UK. The strategy focuses on expanding distribution of its award-winning own-brand products, including ready meals, butchery, tea, coffee, wine, and craft beers, through new channels and potential partnerships.

The rebrand emphasises Booths’ connections to customers, colleagues, producers, and food-loving communities, particularly in its heartland of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Cheshire.

The retailer operates a relatively compact estate of premium stores and has built a reputation as the “Waitrose of the North”.

The announcement follows strong trading, including record Christmas sales in 2025, and comes after a leadership refresh earlier this year in which Emma Booth was promoted to her current role.

Booths has traded continuously as a family business for nearly 180 years, maintaining a focus on high-quality, locally sourced produce and personal service that distinguishes it from larger national chains.

Aldi has announced the return of its popular Cucina Margherita Pizza Crisps and shoppers do not have long to wait before they hit shelves once again. These crisps will return to stores from next Thursday, priced at just £1.15 per bag alongside the equally popular Cucina Garlic Bread Crisps. Shoppers have previously dubbed the Margherita flavour “amazing” and the Garlic Bread “loved” so these middle-aisle must-haves will not stay on shelves for long.

The products form part of the supermarket’s Italian-inspired range available in the middle aisle from June 4. These crinkle-cut crisps are seasoned with Italian herbs, cheese and a hint of tomato, while the Garlic Bread version has a smoky garlic and herb flavour.

The supermarket said that the crisps are back, but that shoppers need to act fast. Aldi’s Italian range is available in stores from June 4 while stocks last.

Other products launching as part of the range include the Cucina Lattice Crisps (£1.49, 125g) in bruschetta and green pesto flavours, alongside Specially Selected Giant Grissini (£1.49, 125g) and a Gourmet Pasta Assortment (£1.49, 500g).

The range also features filled gnocchi, air fryer Gnocchi, limoncello and a selection of pasta sauces, biscuits, and desserts.

Aldi has confirmed it will open a huge new supermarket in Salford later this month. The discount retailer is moving into the former Morrisons site on Trafford Road, which has been empty for around a decade.

The new store will open its doors to customers at 8am on May 28. Plans for the redevelopment were approved by local councillors in October 2025, clearing the way for Aldi to take over the 50,000 sq ft building.

The site had stood vacant for years before the supermarket stepped in.

Once open, shoppers can expect Aldi’s full range of fresh fruit and vegetables, everyday essentials and its Specially Selected products.

The store will also include the brand’s well-known middle aisle, where Specialbuys are updated every Thursday and Sunday.

The opening is part of a wider revival of the former Morrisons building.

A new PureGym is also set to launch at the site on May 22. The 24-hour gym will replace the Exchange Quay branch.

Local councillors have welcomed the development. Ordsall councillor Brendan Keville said: “This will bring back jobs and services, it will increase the availability of affordable food and retail for residents, and it brings back into use a building without any major demolition or construction, provides investment into retail and leisure and increases jobs and the local economy.

“For all these reasons, we’re very supportive of it.”

Aldi has continued to expand across the UK in recent years, opening new stores and taking over former retail sites.

Customers will be able to visit the new store from 8am on May 28, when it officially opens to the public.

Aldi has announced a major £1billion move that will be welcome news to British farmers. The German supermarket giant, which has more than 1,050 stores across the UK, has committed to investing £1.1billion over five years into British egg production to further strengthen and support its domestic supply chain.

Aldi says it sells more than 1,500 tonnes of British eggs every week, equivalent to around 2.5 million packs, sourced from poultry farms across the UK. The investment is underpinned by newly established five-year long-term agreements (LTAs) with the supermarket chain’s egg suppliers, running to the end of the decade.

Aldi says the agreements “provide farmers with greater financial certainty, enabling long-term investment in efficiency, infrastructure and animal welfare”.

Aldi is the second-largest retailer in the country for free-range egg volume.

Julie Ashfield, chief commercial officer at Aldi UK, said: “Our egg supply depends on British farmers, and we want to give them the certainty they need to plan ahead.

“By working closely with our suppliers through long-term agreements, we’re able to provide the stability and confidence they need to continue investing in their farms, while ensuring our customers have access to high-quality, British eggs every day.”

Daniel Fairbun, chief executive officer at L J Fairburn & Son, one of Aldi’s major egg suppliers, added: “The long-term nature of Aldi’s agreements gives us the certainty to invest and keep improving how we produce British eggs.

“That confidence also helps us plan year after year to meet customer demand.”

The announcement builds on Aldi’s wider commitment to long-term partnerships with British growers. The supermarket has already increased the number of long-term agreements in place with UK produce and horticulture suppliers earlier this year.

Aldi is aiming to secure at least 50% of its domestic produce supply through long-term agreements by the end of 2027, providing greater certainty for growers and supporting more resilient supply chains.

Lidl has said it expects to open more than 50 new stores in the next 12 months as part of a £600 million investment plan. The UK’s sixth-largest supermarket chain said the move will create close to 2,000 jobs across the UK.

New store openings will include sites such as Abbots Langley near Watford, Warrington in Cheshire and Thornbury in Gloucestershire, which are all set to open this summer, the company said. Lidl said it will host more than 150 property partners and agents later this month to share its future growth plans as it targets new freehold, leasehold, or long-leasehold properties across Great Britain.

The firm has more than 1,000 stores across Britain and employs more than 35,000 workers. It also operates over 12,600 stores globally across 31 countries, with the vast majority of its footprint in mainland Europe, including over 3,000 in Germany, around 1,600 in France and nearly 200 US stores.

Ryan McDonnell, chief executive of Lidl GB, said: “As we grow, we want to positively impact our British communities. We’re not just opening doors, we’re unlocking regional growth.

“Our expansion translates directly into high-quality jobs and gives British suppliers the certainty they need to invest in the future.

“Above all, it advances our social purpose of making affordable, healthy food accessible to everyone.”

Employment minister Kate Dearden said: “This kind of investment is exactly what we want to see from big employers – creating thousands of good jobs that pay fair wages and boost the standard of living in communities across the country.”

It comes after Lidl reported a 10% surge in sales over a “record-breaking” Christmas, during which nearly 51 million customers shopped with the discounter.

Fans of a British beer brand have expressed their disappointment after it was pulled from supermarket shelves. The range of pale ales, IPAs and stouts was sold at Asda, as well as in smaller and independent alcohol retailers. However, after the brewery went bust, supply to UK supermarkets has been paused. Overtone Brewing Co., based in Scotland, announced it entered liquidation last week. 

The company became known for its unique craft beers, packaged in eye-catching designs. The brand is set to be taken over by a new owner, but it has paused beer supply to supermarkets and smaller shops for the time being. A notice was published in The Gazette on Tuesday, revealing that liquidators were appointed on February 13. George Dylan Lafferty, an insolvency practitioner of Begbies Traynor, has been appointed Provisional Liquidator of Overtone Brewing Ltd, the notice revealed. 

Fans and suppliers have shared their disappointment in the news. One shop that sold Overtone beer, The Wee Beer Shop, shared a post on social media about the liquidation news. 

“What a shame – they produced some of the best IPAs in the UK a few years ago,” the post reads. 

“If you have a hankering to try one last beer, their latest – Stovies – is as good as some of the ones they brewed in the past. I still have cans for sale.”

Another customer shared: “Awful news, I loved Overtone. Normally, they’re the only decent craft on draft down in Ayr.”

No formal closure of the brewery has been announced, but it has been confirmed that it’s pausing beer supply to supermarkets and off-licences across the country, with no return date announced. 

When searched on Google, it is labelled as temporarily closed. “Overtone is undergoing liquidation, but a new owner will continue to operate the brewery and brand in the future,” a spokesperson said.

Another customer called it “awful news”, while another simply said: “Sad times”. 

Liquidation is a legal process to help a company sell off its assets. Most of the time, the final result is the closure of the company and a cease in trading and/or operations. 

The money raised from selling off these assets is then used to pay creditors when they can no longer otherwise pay. 

A major UK supermarket has been fined over £500,000 for selling out-of-date food in one of its stores. Tubs of hummus, which were 16 days past their expiry date, were among 41 items sold despite being out of date.

Asda was ordered to pay £507,767 after pleading guilty to five offences under the Food Safety Act on Thursday, January 29. Trading Standards found a number of out-of-date food items were being sold in the store on Old Mill Lane, Barnsley, including pizzas and curries. Officials warned the items “could have put the public’s health at risk”.

It is illegal for shops to sell food that has passed its expiry date. However, food can legally be sold past its “best-before” date provided it is still of good quality.

A Barnsley Trading Standards spokesperson said: “While improvements have been made since these offences, including a new checking system, retraining and increased auditing in the store, the sizeable £100,000 fine per offence sends a clear message that non-compliance never pays.”

Barnsley Council’s public health spokesperson Cllr Wendy Cain added: “We’re committed to keeping our communities safe, a responsibility we take very seriously.

“We expect businesses of all sizes to only sell safe food, and this significant result sends a clear message that we will always put people’s health and safety first, taking action where businesses fail to comply with legislation or respond to warnings.”

An Asda spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that some out-of-date products were found on sale at our Barnsley store in 2024.  This fell short of the standards our customers rightly expect and that we hold ourselves to.

“In the time since these products were found, we have introduced a new date code checking process in every Asda store to ensure the freshest products are always available for customers to buy.”

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.