The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) is once again looking to hear from UK suppliers including bakeries for its annual groceries sector survey.
Open for six weeks until 22 February, the survey enables suppliers to submit details on how they’ve been treated by any of the 14 designated retailers – Aldi, Amazon, Asda, B&M, Co-op, Home Bargains, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose – over the past year.
Views from the survey will help the GCA to understand the retailers’ behaviour and to take action to ensure they are complying with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice, which covers a variety of areas including fair dealing, changes to supply chain procedures, promotions, and de-listing.
“The annual survey is your chance to tell me in confidence how the retailers are behaving. I want to hear from you,” the Groceries Code Adjudicator, Mark White, said to suppliers.
“I will act on the issues that you raise, making sure that the retailers take action where necessary to treat their suppliers fairly and lawfully.”
Bakery businesses can submit their comments for the survey via the YouGov site here.
The GCA is to publish results of the 2026 survey in the spring, with YouGov also conducting subsequent interviews with a group of respondents to explore their views in more detail. The outputs of these interviews will then be shared at the GCA’s 2026 annual conference later in the year.
2025 survey results
Last year’s GCA survey showed improvements in perceived Code compliance across the retailers for the second successive year.
The number of suppliers reporting that they faced a Code issue fell from 33% in 2024 to 30% in 2025, while average Code compliance across the retailers rose. For the first time, over 90% of suppliers to 13 retailers reported that they had consistently or mostly complied with the Code. There were also improvements in issues prioritised by the GCA including delays in payments and the resolution of invoice discrepancies.
Results of the 2026 survey will show whether these trends have continued and inform future priorities for the GCA, it said.
The following table ranks the retailers by their overall compliance with the Code in 2025. The percentages are comprised of those who responded that the retailer “consistently” or “mostly” follows the Code.
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