Banana hammocks Tesco

UK food retailer Tesco has announced plans to roll out a new 'hammock' shelving system for bananas which is designed to reduce bruising while still allowing the fruit to be displayed prominently.

The new fixtures, which comprise a series of horizontal black cloth layers, have already been rolled out at more than 600 of the group's largest outlets and, according to the company, will soon be introduced in all of its 2,282 stores.

Recent data supplied by TNS suggest bananas are the UK's second-most popular food item after milk, with total annual sales in the country worth more than €690m.

However, bruising to a significant proportion of bananas sold in supermarkets accounts for a major loss in sales every year.

Tesco banana buyer Kris Comerford told The Guardian: 'Brits are completely passionate about bananas and in the retail industry the fruit is known as a hero product – one of the first things that people will put on their shopping list.'

The company has recently carried out research which revealed shoppers want more choice and a bigger range of colours when it comes to buying bananas, the newspaper reported.

'Not everyone loves a ripe banana that is going soft, just as some people don't like them too hard,' said Mr Comerford, 'so now instead of just selling green or yellow ones we will stock all stages of ripeness in between so they can have perfect bananas every day.'