Sainsbury's Red Label tea sales fall despite new suppliers Spicers and Ringtons

A change of supplier has failed to stop sales of Sainsbury’s 110-year-old Red Label tea brand from falling.

After supplying Sainsbury’s with tea for Red Label since Sainsbury’s founder John James Sainsbury developed the brand in 1903, Finlay lost the contract to Spicers and Ringtons last year.

Since Finlay stopped supplying what was the UK’s first supermarket own-label product in March 2012, Red Label sales have fallen 7% to £12.7m [IRI 52 w/e 30 March 2013].

Before the change of supplier, sales of the own-label brand were already struggling. In the year leading up to the change, they slumped 11% [IRI].