He made the business flourish - thanks to Brexit-worried preppers

The UK's access to food and food is strongly linked to the rest of Europe and the EU. One third of all food consumed in the UK is imported from the EU. Between 70 and 90 percent of all fruit and vegetables, depending on the season, are imported.

A hard contractless Brexit poses a challenge to the availability of food in the UK, something Leeds entrepreneur James Blake noted in December when he launched his so-called Brexit box. It costs the equivalent of over SEK 3,500 and contains ready meals and food that lasts for 30 days. Everything is freeze-dried.

- I think it is important for people to be able to be self-sufficient, whether in the case of Brexit, or any other emergency. By this I mean having a small food store in place, in case something happens, the contractor tells SVT Nyheter, adding:

- We don't know exactly how many we sold, but I can say that sales this January (2019) were our best in ten years.

In connection with the great Brexit turbulence in the spring, the heads of ten leading fast food restaurants and food chains wrote a joint letter to the members of the British Parliament:

"We are extremely concerned that our customers will be among the first to experience this," wrote the company leaders together with the British Retail Consotrium (BRC).

The question of whether British households should prepare for any consequences of Brexit has been dwindling, at least since the end of last summer. Then the government released a list of guidance documents under the heading "How to prepare for Britain leaving the EU without agreement".

"We will look at the issue and ensure that there are sufficient food supplies," said then-Brexit Minister Dominic Raab at the end of July 2018.

In parallel, a kind of Brexit-prepper movement has emerged in the country. This is noticed, for example, in the 10,000-member Facebook group 48% Preppers, or in discussions on the online forum Mumsnet, a kind of British response to Familjeliv.se.

Here Brexit preppers meet to share everything from tips on powdered coconut milk with really long shelf life to thoughts on what really should not be forgotten if the Brexit apocalypse strikes.

- Don't forget weapons! Everyone is very good at securing food, but hungry Brexit hordes will tear up your door and take all your things, says the signature PoisonousSmurf on Mumsnet.

“Preparing for Brexit: How to Survive the Food Shortages” and “The Beardy Preppers Guide to Surviving Brexit” are two books on the theme that were published last year.

In January, the government underlined in a statement that "people do not need to build up stocks of food or water filters".

At the same time, BRC and company executives who signed the open letter said there is no reason for people in the UK to start storing food because of Brexit concerns. During the spring, the food chains took some height in their inventory for any hard Brexit.

So there is no reason for people in the country to worry about the situation with either domestic production or imports from other countries, the BBC reported on the government's message in the middle of this spring's Brexit chaos:

“The UK has a high level of food safety. It will continue to be this way, whether we leave the EU with or without an agreement ”.

Entrepreneur James Blake does not agree with the government and BRC that it would be unnecessary for individuals to build food stores.

- When the supply chain goes down, and there is no food left in the stores, prices will go up and the supply will not be the same as before. There will be queues and delays, he tells SVT News.

In the clip above, James Blake talks more about the Brexit box and why he considers it important for private individuals to prepare for an EU-wide exit.