Domino's has spent £7m stockpiling pizza ingredients for Brexit
The company imports around a third of its food from outside the UK, including tomato sauce, frozen chicken, pineapple, and tuna.
Domino’s UK, which has around 1,000 branches across the country, said in an earnings statement today that a chaotic Brexit “carries the increased risk of disruption to raw material supplies.”
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Hide AdDomino’s said: “We expect the increased inventory level related to Brexit to be maintained into 2020.”
The pizza chain isn’t the only retailer to ready itself in case the UK crashes out of the European Union without a deal.
McDonald’s, KFC and Pret a Manger joined up with UK supermarkets earlier this year to warn of “significant” problems to their operations were the Government to fail to secure a deal.
Under the UK’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it appears increasingly likely the country will leave the European Union on October 31 without a deal, leaving trade costs uncertain and supply chains disrupted.
Domino’s is the biggest pizza chain in the world, turning over $2.47 billion in 2017.
In the UK, the company recorded a record day in the run-up to Christmas 2018, with more than 500,000 pizzas sold.
Many have warned Britain is running out of frozen and chilled storage.
Today, the UK food industry asked the government to waive aspects of competition law in the case of a no-deal Brexit in order to allow firms to co-ordinate and direct supplies with one another.
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Hide AdThe Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said it has repeatedly asked ministers for clarity on the current situation, and said supply issues will only worsen if traders aren’t able to discuss pricing, which is prohibited under competition law.
The FDF said: “We asked for these reassurances at the end of last year. But we’re still waiting.”