UK shoppers stock up on tinned food and radios after government preparedness call

What the government asked for

The UK government's Be Ready campaign, which Adnkronos says was also known as Prepare, launched in the week of 19 October 2026 with a simple aim: persuading households to hold supplies that would last 72 hours. On 22 October, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting set out what that means in practice, pointing to about three litres of drinking water per person a day, tinned food, baby food, a battery-powered torch and a portable power bank. The Independent describes the initiative as the first stage of a three-year drive to lift household emergency preparedness against threats such as flooding, wildfires, cyber attacks and war. A new government website publishes a downloadable emergency kit checklist, and the guidance says the kit should cover a short-term incident lasting three days, such as a power failure or a disruption to the water supply.

Streeting responded to the rise in sales of some of these items by telling BBC Newsnight that the public was taking practical steps.

“It's encouraging that people are taking practical steps to be ready.”

Shelves and online orders

Iceland said tinned food sales rose 40% over the weekend of 24 to 25 October, and it also reported strong sales of bottled water. Robert Dyas recorded a 160% rise in radio sales compared with the previous week. Figures from Maplin, reported by BBC Newsnight, show radios up 92%, torches up 284% and power banks up 106% against the same period in September. Maplin's managing director, Ollie Marshall, described people buying the basics within hours of the announcement.

“Within hours of the Be Ready announcement we saw people reach for the basics - a torch, a wind-up radio, a power bank.”

Maplin said its sales would have been higher but stock was low, particularly for power banks, after a summer of heatwaves and the fallout from the Iran war.

Radios92%

Torches284%

Power banks106%

Radios

92 %

Torches

284 %

Power banks

106 %

Data from the article text

Online grocers and stock levels

On Monday, 26 October, Ocado listed several soup and bottled water lines as unavailable, including Volvic, Highland Spring, Brecon Carreg, and the Heinz and Baxters soup ranges. The online grocer told The Times that its stock is replenished daily and that it is working with supply-chain partners to increase availability. Several large supermarkets said they had seen no material change in demand for tinned goods, and they linked the cooler, stormy weather more closely to demand for soups and beans. Iceland said its supplies of these products remain healthy. Jim Bligh, food policy director at the British Retail Consortium, said food availability is holding up across the sector.

“While some retailers have seen a small uptick in sales for some products, food availability remains strong and retailers remain well stocked with all essential products.”

Specialist sellers and prepper kits

Joshua John Pringle, co-founder of Sgt Prepper Shop Limited, told Adnkronos that orders in the 24 hours after the government announcement equalled what the company usually takes in a full month, and that emergency radio sales rose almost tenfold. According to Adnkronos, his firm's basic 72-hour kit costs about 75 to 100 pounds before food. Pringle called the three-day target a realistic and proportionate choice, since most everyday infrastructure faults are usually fixed within that span. Zaid Al-Mufti, founder of survival kit seller EvaQ8, said the company sold out of wind-up radios and water purification tablets over the weekend, shifting about 300 radios against a usual 15. Specialist outdoor and prepper sites also benefited from demand for relatively unusual gadgets.