Waitrose will source all own-brand UK meat, milk, eggs, fruit, vegetables and horticultural products from regenerative farms by 2030, backed by a National Geographic YouTube series shot at its Leckford Estate.
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Waitrose has set a 2030 target for all its own-brand UK meat, milk, eggs, fruit, vegetables and horticultural products to come from farms using regenerative farming practices. The grocery retailer announced the goal alongside a new partnership with National Geographic CreativeWorks on a two-part YouTube series about the shift.
The series was filmed at the Leckford Estate, Waitrose's own farm in Hampshire, and features National Geographic Explorer and photographer Matthieu Paley. It will highlight the retailer's Farming for Nature programme, which aims to support 2,000 British farmers in adopting methods that improve soil health, biodiversity and water quality. The episodes go live on the National Geographic and Waitrose YouTube channels from 19 August.
Leckford Estate director Andrew Hoad said the collaboration was designed to show a wider audience what regenerative farming looks like in practice. "At Leckford, we aren't just talking about the future of farming; we are living it every day," Hoad said. "This series is a vital rally cry to show why transforming our food system matters to everyone."
The 2030 sourcing target covers the retailer's entire own-brand British fresh produce and protein range. The pledge goes beyond the sector's typical sustainability commitments by tying a specific year to a full supply-chain conversion, rather than a percentage reduction or a pilot programme. Hoad said the Farming for Nature programme is already working with growers on cover cropping, reduced tillage and integrated pest management.
Regenerative farming has drawn increased attention from UK grocers as the government prepares to phase out direct subsidy payments under the Environmental Land Management scheme. Waitrose, part of the John Lewis Partnership, is one of the first major supermarkets to set a hard deadline for product-level compliance across its own-brand British lines. The move could pressure rivals such as Tesco, Sainsbury's and M&S to publish similar timelines, given the shared supplier base for British meat and produce.
The National Geographic collaboration gives the campaign a media reach beyond the grocery aisle. CreativeWorks, the brand storytelling arm of the National Geographic Society, has produced similar documentary-style content for Patagonia and the World Wildlife Fund. For Waitrose, the series doubles as a consumer-education tool, explaining why regenerative methods cost more in the short term while arguing the long-term case for soil health and supply-chain resilience.
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