Tesco has extended its Perfectly Imperfect brand of wonky veg into fruit.
Class 2 apples went on sale this week at 60p for 800g, while 227g punnets of misshapen strawberries were listed at 99p.
Tesco launched the range last month with wonky potatoes and parsnips, and plans to extend it to between 15 and 20 lines by the end of the year. It would now be able to take 95% of its suppliers’ strawberries and 97% of its British apple growers’ crops, said commercial director for fresh food and commodities Matt Simister.
The retailer was also developing relationships between partner suppliers to “find a home in the food chain” for produce customers wouldn’t buy, he added, such as mashing lower-grade potatoes and juicing lower grade apples.
“We’ve already facilitated the uptake of 35 tonnes per week from our potato partner Branston into our ready meals partner Samworth Brothers, and we’re hopeful establishing a juicing relationship with Scripps, our key grower of British apples, will utilise the remaining 2% of the edible crop,” he said.
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