Every time I tour the produce shelves, I am struck by the progress that fresh cut is making. Memories of leaking containers that only seemed to contain pineapple chunks have long been relegated to history. And as the sector has widened, with it have come almost as many combinations based on tropical fruit that a marketing man could imagine.
Marks & Spencer has now taken fresh-cut presentation a step further with a whole new range, which concentrates on the image rather than the content. Packs bear a whole raft of quirky descriptions: “Must-have melon, kiwi & raspberry” at £2.29 for 230g; “mango madness” at £2.29 for 200g; “melon/ strawberry seduction with Greek yoghurt”, on an introductory offer of £1.99 for 200g; “all tantalising tropic“ at £2.99 for 375g, containing pineapple, mango, kiwifruit, papaya and passionfruit; and a “five fruit fantasy” of pineapple, mango, kiwifruit, raspberries and blueberries at £2.99 for 250g.
It seems that everywhere you look, the mundane is going out of favour. What caught my eye in Tesco was an Exotic Mushroom Mix at £2.49 for 200g. Shi’taki and oysters of various colours are now well established, but this latest presentation includes not only these, as well as the grey, yellow and pink forms, but also Eryngi (known as the King Oyster) and black poplar mushrooms. Grown in the UK, they also carry an endorsement from TV chef Ching He Huang, although she is a new face on the celebrity cook block.
In the same store there was also a flamboyantly printed polybag containing potatoes. What I found intriguing is that the variety Vales Sovereign, £2 for 2kg, is designated for potato wedges.
Lettuce is no longer just that and there are still new varieties coming forward, probably based on the success of Little Gem. Tesco has come up with something new - a twin-pack of British-grown sweet baby Cos for 99p, while Sainsbury’s is offering a similar pack of mini Red Cos grown in Spain for £1.39.
Aside from that, while on coloration, I have seen customers intrigued by the varying hues of Hass avocados, which recently have been ranging from a bumpy dark green to a hue that I can only describe as burnished copper - surely an opportunity for some imaginative marketing.
Although it can be useful to separate different fruit and vegetable varieties with recipes, labels and packs, there is also merit in bringing them together. M&S has brought fresh herbs together in an Italian-style mix, containing oregano, rosemary and sage, at £1.49 for 30g. An equivalent pack to cater for fish lovers is also available at the same price, containing parsley, chervil and lemon thyme.
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