North west England
Did you know?
In the North West, 44 farmers supply us with meat, poultry and eggs, including 25 pig farmers.
Pearson & Sons
In Cheshire revolutionary technology is enabling one of the UK's leading tomato suppliers to provide electricity for its neighbours in Alderley Edge - while also helping the company to grow a tastier tomato for UK shoppers.
A Pearson & Sons' Combined Heat and Power unit heats the glasshouses while any surplus electricity is sold to the National Grid, to provide electricity for the local town.
In an innovative twist, the carbon dioxide emissions from the plant are recycled into the greenhouses and absorbed by the crop to produce more tomatoes with improved flavour.
What's more, by recycling the carbon dioxide during the day when conditions are best for growth, the plant reduces emissions of carbon by around 3,000 tonnes a year.
"With the support and encouragement of Tesco, our business has grown over the years, not only in size but in environmental stature," says Alan Pearson, son of Albert Pearson, who founded the company in 1949 as a traditional market garden.
Huntapac
All carrots sold in our stores in the North West come from Huntapac, a third generation family firm based near Preston in Lancashire.
Working with us for the past 30 years, the strength of the relationship has enabled Huntapac to be innovative - so that, last year, it supplied UK pre-packed carrots to us for every week of the year, with no need to import at all.
Sales manager Ian Gregory said: "The last few years in particular have seen tremendous growth for us. The popularity of Tesco's Express stores has opened up a new market for pre-packed carrots."
Supplying some 18,000 tonnes of carrots and 4,000 tonnes of parsnips a year to us, the company now employs 330 full time staff on its Lancashire site. Ian says: "Tesco has played a significant part in our expansion. As they have grown, we have grown with them, enabling us to create jobs locally and become the biggest local employer."