Tesco is hoping to nudge people to eat more fruit and boost its own fresh produce sales with a new book featuring recipes and buying tips.

All You Want To Know About Fruit launches into Tesco superstores and Extra stores next week, when it will be promoted within the fruit section of the fresh produce aisle in a dedicated stand.

Shoppers will get a free copy if they spend £5 or more on standard or organic fruit, or they can purchase it for £7.99. It will also be available on Amazon and through WH Smith.

The book is written by Mark Blaylock and based on an idea by Tesco category director Nick Tatum. But although Tatum and members of his technical team are credited, the book does not bear Tesco branding or identify contributors as Tesco staff.

"We've kept it non-Tesco branded on purpose because we wanted to do something for customers so they didn't feel like we were imposing it on them," said Emmanuelle Lerges, category technical manager for fruit.

Tesco wanted to do something different to ­educate shoppers and help them get more out of the fruit they bought, she said.

Each section of the book relates to a specific category of fruit and contains recipes alongside information on different varieties.

The book launch formed part of a wider Tesco strategy to improve the quality perception of its fruit category, Lerges added.

"We're very proud about the quality of the fruit we put on shelf," she said. "We actually want customers to understand the work that goes into getting the product on shelf."

Tesco is currently finalising how the book will be promoted, but it is considering the use of shelf-edge labelling as well as promotion through the Tesco Real Food website.

If uptake was good, Tesco would look to roll the concept out to other food categories across the store, Lerges said.

The technical content of the book was provided by Tesco technical staff, ­growers and suppliers.

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