Asda has sold more than 160 tonnes of its misshapen or 'wonky' vegetables since its launch in February.
The Wonky Veg boxes, which were introduced in a bid to cut down on food waste, have received an 'unprecedented' response from customers, HuffingtonPost.co.uk reports.
Since starting the sale, the UK retailer says it has quadrupled sales for the 5kg box of imperfect or misshapen vegetables, which retail at £3.50 a box. So far it has sold 32,500 units.
Speaking about the success of the products, Asda’s produce quality director Ian Harrison said originally the grocer was unsure of its viability as a product in store. "We were seriously 50/50 whether this was going to work or not. The room was split," he said.
A report by the UK’s Global Food Security Programme claimed up to 40 per cent of fresh produce is wasted as it doesn't reach quality standards. A number of retailers have set up similar programmes to redress the balance.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by John Golden. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
