Morrisons has reported solid sales of 'wonky' vegetables in a trial of such products conducted in stores in Yorkshire and the north-east.
The retailer has also relaxed its specifications for Brussels sprouts to allow fewer to be wasted, reports The Guardian.
An earlier attempt by Morrisons to sell wonky courgettes was branded “pathetic” by chef and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
The wonky potatoes, carrots, onions and parsnips have been selected from farmers’ crops because they are either misshapen, have growth cracks, or are much smaller or larger than average. They have been discounted by about a third in price to reflect that customers might need to spend more time peeling them, or might not be able to use the whole vegetable.
The company said it had chosen Yorkshire and the north-east for the trial because it has a large number of stores in those regions and can monitor them more easily from its head office in Bradford.
Conducted in 75 branches, the trial started earlier in December, and will be rolled out to a further 75 stores, including outlets in the Midlands, and to online delivery in early January. Morrisons claimed initial sales had been “promising”, with sales close to expectations on potatoes, carrots and onions, although misshapen parsnips were less popular. Sales in the first week amounted to approximately £25,000, according to The Guardian.
Drew Kirk, Morrisons’ produce director, admitted that shoppers often sought perfection for their Christmas feast: “Customers often want their festive meals to look and taste perfect, so it is going to be very interesting to see whether they take to these wonky vegetables over the Christmas period,' he told the newspaper.
“Sales of our wonky vegetables have been encouraging, as they have been priced at a discount and sold next to the class one crop to give customers the choice. If the sales tell us that customers really like these products, we will roll them out to other parts of the UK.”
Meanwhile, ahead of the peak Brussels sprout-buying week of the year, Morrisons has also relaxed its specifications to allow so-called “monster” sprouts - up to a third bigger than their usual size because of the unusually warm weather - to be sold.
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