Tesco has revealed that sales of organic fruit in its British stores have grown by more than 18 per cent in the last year, compared with an average of 8 per cent across the UK market.
The most popular organic fruit items at Tesco are soft fruits like strawberries and blueberries, with demand up 34 per cent, and bananas, with demand having increased by 27 per cent.
Meanwhile, demand for organic citrus fruit is up by 17 per cent, with mangoes and other exotic fruit up by 8 per cent, the same amount as apples and pears.
Tesco fruit commercial manager Gareth Wilcock commented, "We strongly believe that great-quality organic produce should be an affordable option for families. The revival of organic foods has been gathering pace over the last few years, with keener prices and better availability both playing a major part in that."
He added that Tesco is working hard to get organic produce into its stores as quickly as possible, and looking at a new ways of offering it to customers.
"Smaller snacking-pack sizes for several key organic berry fruit lines have also helped with portion control and cutting down on potential food waste," noted Wilcock.
Tesco’s main UK organic fruit grower and supplier is Organic Farm Foods, which supplies the retailer with a wide range of fruit, including apples, pears, grapes, watermelons, kiwis and mangoes.
Its managing director, Adam Wakeley, commented on the rising demand, saying, "Traditionally, the two biggest challenges for organic produce have been price and availability, and we have been working closely with Tesco and our growers around the world to improve availability as we move between seasons.
"We are particularly focusing on bridging gaps in supply to ensure customers can receive a consistent year-round offer."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jenny Whelan. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
