30 October, 2026

You might have been thinking: I should stock up on beans. Not because we’re predicting the apocalypse, but because prepared pantries could be one small part of making Britain more resilient in an increasingly uncertain world. 

The UK Government has put together a taskforce, drawing on experts from military, climate science, and policy to better prepare us for what may come. Considering the summer just past was the hottest on record, and conflicts across Europe and the Middle East threaten to escalate, experts are predicting more than a few curveballs. At which point that extra can of beans starts to look like a clever strategy.  

The National Emergencies Trust’s Ready Together campaign makes this idea concrete, encouraging communities to think about how they would cope with disruption to the things we take for granted. Its guidance recommends access to essentials including clean water, medicines, torches, batteries and long-lasting food. Which raises the next question: where are the brands?  

There’s a clear opportunity for retailers and brands to come to the table to make preparedness more accessible. Over and above selling us more items (think supermarkets promoting emergency essentials, battery manufacturers stocking community emergency kits and so on), why not think about the broader role they can play in building resilience? Who really knows how long bottled water can be safely stored before the plastic starts to break down. How often should you replace the batteries in the wind up radio you just bought, to ensure they are working effectively?   (The answers respectively are about two years, but check the use by date, and it depends, so check them monthly). Is there a role for Boots or Superdrug to remind us of the essential components of a first aid kit? Over and above  making sure the shelves are stocked, there is a role for brands to educate us, turning government advice into practical action over and above buying a lot more cans and forgetting about it.  

Resilience means working together. Governments, brands, and people all working together to add a bit of fibre to the preparedness toolkit. Just don’t panic buy and cause a run on beans.

By Mitchell Keip