Tesco Addresses Food Waste With Fuss-Free Frozen Fruit

02 Mar 2017 --- Tesco takes the hassle out of eating tricky fruits and vegetables like pomegranates, watermelon, coconut and beetroot with the launch of a new range of “without the fuss” ready-prepared, frozen products.

Preparing tricky fruit and veg is set to get easier for shoppers, according to the UK retailer which is debuting its first ever frozen prepared versions of time-saving and non-messy produce. 

The new frozen products come in resealable packs; the beetroot and coconut are already diced, while the watermelon is in chunks and the pomegranate is seeded.

The supermarket is tapping into fruit trends for healthy antioxidant-packed pomegranate, the continuing craving for coconut, as well as offering watermelon and beetroot, two other trending fresh produce items popular in salad recipes and as smoothie and cake ingredients.

The range will also help reduce food waste, according to the supermarket, because consumers take what is needed and leave the rest in the freezer. And, being frozen doesn’t detract from the nutrient and vitamin content of the fruit either. 

“Anyone who’s ever tried getting the seeds out of a pomegranate to add outstanding flavor to a salad or tried breaking open a coconut will know how fiddly it can be. Our new frozen range is a delicious and hassle free way to help assemble that eye-catching dish,” explains Tesco frozen food buyer Marianne Aitken.

“Frozen fruit options are becoming increasingly popular with shoppers, who are looking for simple ways to eat a wide range of fruits, without the preparation time associated with fresh varieties.”

In the last year demand for bags of ready prepared frozen fruit slices at Tesco has increased 35%, while the supermarket’s frozen smoothie range, which now includes vegetable and fruit mixes, have seen a close to a 100% sales increase in the last 12 months.

Tesco launched the UK’s first frozen perfectly prepared avocados, which are peeled and halved, 18 months ago as part of the company’s contribution to cutting on food waste in the home; Tesco has committed to help halve all UK food waste by 2025. 

Dr Richard Swannell, director of the Waste and Resources Reduction Action Program (WRAP), welcomed the launch of the new frozen lines by Tesco
“This could really help consumers reduce edible household food waste as they can simply defrost and use as and when required,” he said. 

Meanwhile the retailer has expanded its supply from organic orange growers Rio Tinto in Seville which currently supplies the supermarket with organic oranges and easy peelers. 

Following a recent tour around the grove, Tesco fruit buyer Jess McKenzie, has set up a new direct supply of blemished organic oranges which would have otherwise been waste. 

“We were looking around the pack house, when I noticed a huge bin of organic oranges. The grower explained that these didn’t meet the specification for our organic orange pack. Some would go for juicing and some would get wasted. I looked at the oranges and apart from them being smaller with a few cosmetic defects, there was nothing wrong with the fruit. They tasted great and I didn’t want them going to waste,” she says. 

Tesco now uses this previously “binned” crop to create an organic orange juicing pack. 

“Not only are they great for juicing or in smoothies but they can also be eaten, if you don’t mind a few blemishes. The importance of working direct with our growers was proven in this trip. In just one visit we were able to reduce food waste, the grower gets a better return for the crop and we've introduce a new line to differentiate our organic offer,” she adds.