Tesco
Salvatore Genovese-grown hot chilli measures 1.4 million Scovilles and is available in Tesco stores until November
Tesco has launched what it claims is the “hottest-ever commercially-grown” chilli pepper into stores this week.
The Komodo Dragon chilli – which measures up to 1.4 million Scoville units – is grown for Tesco by the UK’s largest chilli grower, Salvatore Genovese, based in Blunham, Bedfordshire.
In comparison, a jalapeno pepper used in many pizza toppings measures 3,500 Scovilles, while the very hot Scotch Bonnet is rated up to 350,000 Scovilles, Tesco said.
Komodo Dragon chillis are now on sale in 500 stores in 15g packets sold for £1.
“In recent years we’ve had the fearsome Dorset Naga, the searing Bhut Jolokia and the mouth-numbing Trinidad Scorpion,” said Tesco chilli buyer, Eleanor Mansell. “But they all pale in comparison to the UK’s latest commercially-grown chilli pepper – the mighty Komodo Dragon which puts the others in the shade.”
Mansell said the Komodo Dragon is unusual because it has a delayed reaction that “lulls you into a sense of false security”.
“At first you can taste a wonderful hot fruitiness but then after about 10 seconds the full might of this little demon hits you and your whole mouth is aglow,” she said. “This is definitely a chilli pepper for connoisseurs and for those who are experienced in eating really, superhot food.”
Grower Genovese, who started growing chilli peppers about 15 years ago (after he took over his parents’ cucumber business), said hot chillis are the one that create the most interest. “So each year I try and grow one hotter than the last. I have chilli heads, as they’re known, contacting me from all over the world asking for samples,” he said.
“The Komodo Dragon should be livening up meal times over the coming months. I’d seriously advise anyone not experienced in eating really hot chilli peppers to have some milk or yoghurt ready as a standby to douse the flames.”
Genovese grows about one million chillis, or 15 tonnes, each week, on his seven-acre farm. Komodo Dragon chilli peppers will be available in Tesco until November.
Retailer launched Future Farmer Foundation to ‘help bright, talented, determined youngsters make a confident start in the world of agriculture’
Thanet Earth and Branston are assisting Tesco with its latest Future Farmer Foundation activity.
The foundation is open once again to receive applications from enthusiastic young farmers who wish to make their mark on the industry.
Tesco launched the Future Farmer Foundation in 2014 to “help bright, talented, determined young people make a confident start in the world of agriculture; whether they are looking to take over the family farm, embark on a new farming venture, or have an ambition to enter the industry for the first time.”
This intake, the third for the foundation, will build on some of the successes that Tesco claims have already been achieved in the previous years.
According to Tesco, around 100 young people have already benefited from the programme, which aims to develop the business and personal skills of the participants and teach them about the importance of an effective supply chain for a modern sustainable farm business.
Lisa Buckley-Hoyle, Tesco’s category director for sourcing and agriculture, said: “Our Future Farmer Foundation is about encouraging people to make their own start in the world of agriculture. We have been delighted with huge drive and enthusiasm we have seen so far with the intake in other years and we feel confident that this year will be even better.
“At Tesco, we recognise the many challenges young people face in this industry. As British agriculture’s biggest customer, it is important to us that we help create opportunities for the next generation of farmers.”
Training is delivered by experts in their respective fields from across agriculture, and the foundation is supported by leading food and farming businesses including the aforementioned Thanet Earth and Branston, and other firms including Bayer Crop Science, Muller-Wiseman, and Noble Foods.
Buckley Hoyle added: “By aiming to provide participants with the opportunity to be exposed to all parts of the industry and supply chain, the Future Farmer Foundation has already helped to create a new generation of customer focused entrepreneurs in a fast moving and global industry.”
‘Future farmers’ will also have the opportunity to apply for a Tesco International Scholarship, worth up to £5,500
Halal meat brand Ghanim International UK has extended its range of frozen, microwavable products in Tesco.
Ghanim International UK has launched its ‘Chilli Nacho Chicken Drumstick’ and ‘Garlic Butter Chicken Kiev’ in over 42 Tesco stores, as part of its Brunei Halal range.
The company said combining quality-assured British meat with innovative products, while meeting the needs of second- and third-generation Muslim consumers, was a key focus.
Dr Mohammad Nazir OBE, CEO of Ghanim International UK, began talks with senior management at Tesco more than a year ago and has seen the partnership flourish, with the range now being expanded into chilled products.
“We responded to Tesco’s challenge for more innovative products.
“Our brand has been recognised as having strength by sourcing British local produce and a high level of halal integrity, quality and presentation. I feel really excited that Tesco has been able to see our vision in reaching out to the second- and third-generation Muslim consumers in the UK,” Nazir commented.
Meanwhile, Ghanim International UK said Tesco was “striving to offer complete halal assurance, to ensure there is quality and traceability from farm to family”.
Strong performance from the UK’s leading retailer comes at the expense of Asda, according to new Kantar Worldpanel figures
Tesco’s return to growth appears to be taking market share from Asda.
That’s according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel, which show that the sector as a whole is still hugely competitive, with the grocery price war driving supermarket deflation to a record level of 1.6% for the 3 months to March 1.
Tesco has posted its strongest performance in 18 months, with the UK’s biggest retailer growing sales by 1.1%, with its market share now down just 0.1% points on last year.
Sales at Asda, meanwhile, were down 2.1%, and its market share dropped by 17%.
Kantar Worldpanel’s head of retail and consumer insight, Fraser McKevitt, said: “Among the big four supermarkets,Tesco has been the stand-out retailer. This resurgence has impacted Asda, which competes for many of the same shoppers as Tesco.”
Morrisons and Sainsbury’s both grew behind the market average, with sales falling by 0.4% and 0.5% respectively in the period the data covers.
Discounters Lidl and Aldi, and premium grocer Waitrose, all continue to grow, with sales up 19.3%, 13.6% and 4.9%, respectively.
Although Aldi experienced its slowest rate of growth since June 2011, it has reached a record five per cent market share, although Waitrose has kept ahead with 5.2% of total spend.
Supermarkets need to shut stores to save costs, as price cuts are ‘not enough’ to fend off competition from discounters
Retailers must shut down one in five of their stores in order to turn around flagging sales figures and reboot the grocery market, a report has said.
A large-scale closure programme is the “only viable solution” to return to profitable growth for the major supermarkets, the study found, and said price cuts alone will not win the battle against hard discounters Aldi and Lidl.
“We believe that any major price investments by Morrisons, Sainsbury’s or Tesco can be exceeded by the discounters,” said analyst Rob Joyce of report authors Goldman Sachs.
The report found that as over half of Tesco’s stores are bigger than 40,000 sq ft, the UK’s largest retailer will have the biggest problem.
And it said that multiple supermarkets would suffer like-for-like sales declines of three per cent a year until 2020, unless they begin to close stores.
“Our analysis of the UK grocery industry suggests capacity exit is the only viable solution for a return to profitable growth,” the report said.
The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, published today for the 12 weeks ending 9 November 2014, show that all the top four retailers have lost market share, while Aldi and Lidl have grown (up 25.5% and 16.8% respectively).
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “The declining grocery market will be of concern to retailers as they gear up for the key Christmas trading season. The fight for a bigger share of sales has ignited a price war which means an average basket of everyday goods such as milk, bread and vegetables now costs 0.4% less than it did this time last year. This is bad news for retailers, but good news for shoppers with price deflation forecast to continue well into 2015.”
Sainsbury’s has announced a £150m investment in price cuts as it revealed a 2.1% fall in like-for-like sales.
Sainsbury’s released its interim results for the 28 weeks ending 27 September 2014, showing underlying profit before tax down 6.3% to £375m from £400m in 2013/2014. Underlying basic earnings per share were also down significantly, by -12.7% to 14.5p compared with 16.6p in 2013/2014.
The supermarket, alongside Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, has been hard-hit by the success of discount brands Aldi and Lidl.
To combat this, Sainsbury’s said it would invest £150m in reducing prices, half of which will fall in the second half of 2014/15 and the remainder in the first half of 2015/16.
Moreover, Sainsbury’s stated it would work closely with its suppliers to provide lower prices for it customers and “deliver value chain efficiencies which can be reinvested in price”.
Chief executive Mike Coupe said Sainsbury’s would continue to put customers first: “We will continue to differentiate ourselves from a position of strength by offering great products and services at fair prices, investing in the quality of our food and investing in price in areas where our customers tell us it matters most. By knowing our customers better than anyone else, we will continue to serve them through multiple channels and in ways that make their lives easier, regardless of changes in the market. Our colleagues will remain our greatest asset; we will invest in their training and development to ensure they can continue to deliver industry-leading service.”
David Tyler, chairman, said: “The UK grocery sector has become increasingly challenging in recent months. As a result, we have evolved our strategy and believe this will allow us to build on our heritage and past success, especially as it will be delivered by the most experienced management team in the industry.”
Retailer launches new price match scheme that compares with Aldi and Lidl as well as top four on branded and own-brand items
Morrisons has launched the first-ever price match scheme that compares with discounters Aldi and Lidl, as well as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda.
The scheme, named ‘Match and More’, will refund any differences in price of comparable products as points onto cards, using price data from independent analysts Profitero.
The retailer said that if Lidl is 60 pence cheaper than Morrisons then 600 points are added to a shopper’s Match & More account.
It will launch as a phased roll-out starting today (3 October) and will be in stores in time for Christmas.
When 5,000 Match & More points are collected the customer receives a £5 voucher at the till, while shopper information from the cards will be collected and used to tailor future offers.
Morrisons CEO Dalton Philips said the retailer has learned from other price match programmes so customers will not collect lots of small vouchers or have to redeem them online when they get home.
“Because it price matches the discounters, the Match & More card will provide the ultimate guarantee about Morrisons’ value-for-money,” he said.
Morrisons said it also has plans to allow points to be redeemed as vouchers for leisure activities such as eating-out and travel.
Price matched products will cover branded and own-brand products as well as items that are on promotion elsewhere.
The Trinidad Scorpion, which until recently was the hottest chilli in the world, has an average reading of 1.2m Scovilles
The UK’s latest ‘hottest-ever’ commercially grown chilli pepper is to go on sale at Tesco.
The Trinidad Scorpion, which until recently was considered the hottest chilli pepper in the world, has an average reading of 1.2 million on the chilli-heat measuring Scoville unit scale.
Some Trinidad Scorpions have been measured at 2 million Scovilles. In comparison, the average Jalapeno pepper comes in at 3,500 Scovilles.
Tesco chilli pepper buyer Shannon Berry said: “The Trinidad Scorpion is unbelievably spicy and should be approached with extreme caution even by so-called chilli heads.
“You can sense the strength just by smelling the chilli and the first bite leaves you under no illusion at all that you are about to undergo an intense culinary experience.
“But besides the scorching heat the Trinidad Scorpion also has a wonderful fruitiness that if tempered in a chutney or salsa with mango or banana it will create quite a wonderful relish.
“Be warned, it is so strong you need only the tiniest smidgeon in order to add some excitement to your food.”
The Trinidad Scorpion has been grown by Salvatore Genovese, who produces one million chillies a week on his farm near Sandy in Bedfordshire.
Salv, as he is known in the business, has become so renowned within the UK’s chilli head community that he has attracted a loyal fan base with followers eagerly anticipating the arrival of his latest variety.
Two years ago, he launched the Bedfordshire Super Naga in the UK, and demand was so high that initial supplies ran out within a few months.
This time, he has planted enough to at least last through most of the summer.
Genovese said: “It could be that the Trinidad Scorpion is way too hot for the UK market, so I’m eager to get feedback before deciding on whether to grow more or not.
“For the Bedfordshire Burner I was getting calls from chilli heads all over the world and it went down a storm which is why I decided to grow an even hotter variety.”
The Trinidad Scorpion will go on sale exclusively in 235 Tesco stores across the UK and will cost £1 for a packet of between two to three chilli peppers, depending on their size.
Ex-Tesco finance director Andrew Higginson will take over on 1 October when Sir Ian Gibson retires
Morrisons has appointed Tesco veteran Andrew Higginson as its next chairman.
Higginson will take over on 1 October following the retirement of Sir Ian Gibson, amid speculation that his arrival could pose problems for the beleaguered current chief executive, Dalton Philips.
Higginson spent 15 years on the Tesco board during years of rapid growth, as finance director and later as chief executive of the retailer’s online and bank divisions. He left in 2012, shortly after previous Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy.
He is currently chairman of home shopping group N Brown. On Tuesday (29 July) he stepped down as chairman of the recently floated Poundland when his new role at Morrisons was announced.
Poundland’s senior independent director and former Sainsbury’s finance chief Darren Shapland replaces him.
Higginson joins Morrisons amid a continuing sales slump. The latest Kantar Worldpanel data shows that Morrisons now has an 11% share of the market, down from 11.6% a year ago.
It posted an annual loss of £176 million in the year to February, and in June announced it was cutting 2,600 jobs as part of a drive to modernise the way its stores were managed.
Morrisons has said it is investing £1 billion over three years as it cuts prices to compete, and its online shopping platform is growing in size and scale.