Jamie Oliver Label: Sainsbury's v Tesco

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Signing up to be a spokesperson for a big retail chain isn't a cakewalk. Jamie Oliver is in the news again over a dispute with Sainsbury's supermarket chain, which pays him over 1.2 million pounds a year to promote its stores. The Telegraph reported that Sainsbury's has decided not to stock all of Jamie's new range of fresh food. Jamie launched a range of 40 herbs, pastas, salads, and sauces under his own name: However, while Tesco is stocking all the new products, Sainsbury's has yet to commit to taking any of the range. The company says that it is likely to put a handful of the new jars and packets on its shelves. A spokesman for the supermarket, which pays £1.2 million a year to Oliver, said: "As with all of our new products, we look to see if there is a point of difference to our existing ranges. The guy clearly has a lot of credibility in some areas, but with some of the lines we just can't see the difference." Jamie was in the news last week after it was announced that he chose Tesco not Sainsbury's nutritional labeling system for his new food range. But every difference that Jamie has had with Sainsbury's seems to have a silver lining. In January he had to apologize for criticizing the supermarket for failing to appear on his television show, Jamie's Fowl Dinners (see Super Chef), which revealed the poor living conditions of battery chickens. Sales of non-battery chickens have soared since the show aired in the UK. Sainsbury's reported sales of free range, organic and chicken rose by 50 per cent. The moral? If you get a chance to represent a company or product line, make sure you know your partner and you limit your relationship. And you keep lines of communication open. Previous articles: Jamie Oliver: Chicken Out! Jamie Oliver: Jamie At Home Jamie Oliver: Cook with Jamie Jamie Oliver Cartoon By Aardman Jamie Oliver Betters British School Food FOOD PIX: Jamie Oliver Fat Suit Nora Sands: Nora's Dinners Jamie Oliver Signs Sainsbury's Jamie Oliver New Year: School Lunch Jamie Oliver on Vodafone Live! Jamie Oliver: Real Guts Fat Lady Sings Jamie Oliver Jamie Oliver: School Lunch July 4: East Meets West Wall Street Journal: Beef over Chef Sponsorship? Amazon UK's Steamy Xmas Chefs [Food Television - complete] [Chefs & Branding - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Jamie Oliver --> back to Super Chef