Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket, has announced an exclusive launch of a new range of cold-pressed juices, Waste NOT, made from wonky fruit and vegetables that may have otherwise gone to waste.
The new Waste NOT range will be comprised of surplus apples, beetroot, strawberries and watermelon that fall outside produce specifications.
Juices will include Orange, Carrot and Apple; Orange, Beetroot and Apple; Apple, Watermelon, Strawberry, Cucumber and Mint; and Orange, Apple, Celery and Spinach.
The juices will be priced at £1.50 per 250ml bottle, which will undercut the cold-pressed juice drink market. Tesco hopes to save around 3.5 tonnes of surplus fruit and vegetables within the first 12 weeks of the new SKUs going on sale.
A Second Chance
Tesco prepared-fruit buyer Jo Batty said, “These delicious juices are the latest way that we are helping tackle food waste by ensuring as much of the crop as possible gets used.
“The fruit and vegetables being used in the range fall outside the specifications for fresh produce, and although they might not be flawless to look at, they still offer shoppers great taste,” Batty added.
Mike Bullock of Waste NOT said, “Around 50% of celery is discarded in the UK before it even gets past the farm gate. Beetroot deemed too large or small is rejected. It’s the same with oranges that are ‘ugly’ on the outside but still beautiful and juicy on the inside. What a waste! We couldn’t sit by and watch all this healthy produce be put in the bin.
“The solution was literally staring us in the face, and Waste NOT is our way of using what’s beautiful on the inside – where it matters – and sharing what tastes good, feels good and is doing good. It’s our way of helping the planet,” Bullock added.
Tesco also recently announced that it has also given over 50 million pieces of fresh fruit to children over the last two years under its ‘Free Fruit For Kids’ initiative.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
