Co-op Christmas carrot giveaway

Mark Crumlin, store manager of Co-op Waterloo in Liverpool, with Rudolph and his free carrots

The Co-op has announced it will give away free carrots at 253 of its larger UK stores in a bid to encourage families to leave out a carrot for Rudolph this Christmas Eve.

Customers will be invited to pick up the extra vegetable with their grocery shopping on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 December.

The move follows new research from the retailer, which reveals that only four in every ten people are planning to plate up a carrot for Santa’s helpers this year.

Coventry is the UK’s least Rudolph-friendly city, according to the Co-op, with only a quarter of inhabitants intending to leave out a carrot. Belfast, Nottingham and York also prop up the list, which includes cities but not towns.

Less than a third of people plan to follow the tradition in these cities, compared to 52 per cent in Norwich, which emerged as the UK’s most generous city when it comes to feeding Santa’s helpers.

Adele Balmforth, the Co-op’s category trading manager for fresh produce, said: “Leaving out a carrot for Rudolph is a long-held tradition loved by many of our customers. We’re hoping to inject new life into the custom by giving away free produce across many of our UK stores – something we hope shoppers will embrace with the spirit of the season.”

The Co-op’s survey was conducted by online market research company Atomik, which polled 1,004 people across the UK.