- Asda introduces large punnets of strawberries in response to this year’s impressive harvest
- Asda sees 30% increase in strawberry crop yield versus expected levels due to mild May
- Supermarket launches 700g punnet of strawberries to ensure UK growers don’t have to waste surplus berries
- A predicted 3.6 million strawberries will be eaten from Asda’s shelves this month
LEEDS, England, 2017-Jun-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — Asda has seen a spike in strawberry crop growth this last month thanks to May’s mild weather resulting in an increased number of the nation’s favourite red berry.
Growers for the supermarket have seen an increase in crop production of 30% versus the predicted harvest, which they’re attributing to the high number of mild days Britain saw throughout May. As a response to the impressive number of strawberries harvested by Asda’s growers this last month, the supermarket is introducing a new 700g punnet of berries, alongside its existing 300g pack.
The launch of the large punnets will benefit UK growers who have seen a surplus of strawberries in the recent days, making sure as many of the berries end up on the supermarket shelf as possible and do not go to waste.
Barrie Jones, Asda Senior Strawberries Buyer, comments: “The mild weather in May means we’ve the growers we work with have had to harvest much of our strawberry crop a lot earlier than expected. We initially thought there would be a mountain of strawberries on the farm leftover which supermarkets couldn’t sell, so it’s great that we’ve been able to work with our growers to come up with a solution to tackle the results of the Great British weather.”
With almost 100,000 of the new punnets – the equivalent of 70 tonnes – rolling onto Asda shelves from this weekend, the supermarket is championing British-grown berries, which are harvested when at the optimum level of ripeness, ensuring full flavour and juiciness is retained.
Charlie Mills, Fresh Produce Manager at Asda, comments: “This week alone, 3,500 tonnes of strawberries have been picked from their plants. We know our customers love British strawberries, so we want to ensure we’re providing shoppers with a bounty of berries as we head into summer.”
Asda predicts an approximate total of 3.6 million strawberries – the equivalent of 7,500 tonnes – will be eaten over the next few months.
Charlie continues: “We’re continuing our investment into working closely with our growers to ensure we’re reducing food waste as we battle the increasing number of good fruit and veg thrown away each year.”
Asda’s 700g punnet of strawberries will be available in-store from Saturday 10 June for £2.50.
Source: ASDA
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