International-market magazine 'Fresh Plaza' has identified new opportunities in the UK for innovative companies, in the areas of agriculture, technology and retail. Currently producing only one quarter of the national demand for fruit and vegetables, the UK increasingly focuses on innovative and sustainable technology to meet its fresh-produce demands.
The main opportunities have been identified in the area of agricultural innovation and in retail. Examples of innovation in the agricultural sector include automation in greenhouse cultivation, 'vertical farming' and 'urban farming'. In retail, innovative packaging solutions and a wider range of snack-vegetables for schools, canteens and 'convenience' stores are seen as the main opportunities for development in the UK.
In a new initiative to help meet the demand for British local fresh produce, Tesco has recently joined supermarkets Asda, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Co-op in installing a 'wonky veg' shelf - giving its customers the chance to buy perfectly edible, 'imperfect' vegetables, which would otherwise go to waste.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Martha Sparrius. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
