G's icebergs

The small iceberg lettuces will be sold in Tesco's Perfectly Imperfect range

G’s Fresh has sent a “bonus crop” of small iceberg lettuces to Tesco to be sold in its Perfectly Imperfect range.

Recent cool temperatures and frost have created an excess of several thousand lettuces that are below normal retail size specifications and will be sold on a “once it’s gone, it’s gone” basis in selected stores.

In a bid to reduce food waste and make the most of the smaller-than-expected crop, Tesco has decided to sell the surplus lettuces as part of its Perfectly Imperfect range. The lettuces will retail at 29p each.

“It’s a flush that’s been created by the changeable weather we’ve had over the past six weeks or so,” explained G’s marketing director Anthony Gardiner. “The recent frosts increased the volume of small heads because of the slow-down in growth.”

A reduction in consumer demand for lettuce due to unseasonably low temperatures in recent weeks has also been a factor in creating the excess, he said.

When the supplier recognised there would be a reduction in lettuce head size it approached Tesco and asked for help.

“We've worked with G's for years and are in constant conversation about how to deliver the best produce to customers,” Tesco’s chilled salads buying manager Georgina Reid wrote in her blog on the Tesco website.

“They know we try to accommodate different specifications, where possible, for our Perfectly Imperfect range. In this instance the product is just as good as our regular iceberg lettuce, but it’s smaller.”

Reid added that the arrangement was beneficial to all parties: “The farmer benefits from not having to plough the lettuce back into the field, food waste is prevented and customers get a bumper bonus deal,” she said.

In the past year Tesco has taken surplus crops of wonky veg in cauliflowers, carrots, strawberries, cherries, lettuce and celery.