Creating a new private-label line called Perfectly Imperfect, Tesco has begun retailing ‘wonky’ vegetables in 200 of its UK supermarkets, beginning with a 500g packet of parsnips for £0.30 and a 2kg bag of potatoes for £0.90, HuffingtonPost.co.uk reports.
Comparatively, under Tesco’s private-label Everyday Value line, a 1kg bag of parsnips costs £1.20, making the ‘wonky’ counterparts less than half as expensive. A 2.5kg bag of Everyday Value potatoes retails at £1.18.
Between 15 and 20 items of fresh produce will appear under Perfectly Imperfect over the course of 2016, Tesco told HuffingtonPost.co.uk.
In a statement, the retailer said, "Programmes by Jamie Oliver and Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall, among others, have helped highlight how food gets wasted throughout the supply chain, and how vegetables that may not be perfect on the eye but are just as good to eat can end up going to waste.
"The interest in wonky veg is good news for our customers, good news for suppliers, and great news in the fight against food waste.
"Our new Perfectly Imperfect range will begin with potatoes and parsnips, and we plan to add a number of other fruit and vegetables over the course of the year," Tesco added.
The move is part of Tesco’s food-waste reduction programme. It follows a similar decision taken by Asda earlier this year.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
