Tesco
Fifteen tonnes of UK-grown stone fruit now on sale in UK, with a huge increase in production lined up to seize export opportunities
The first substantial volume of British-grown apricots have entered the market.
For the next six weeks, stonefruit lovers will be able to buy 15 tonnes of apricots grown near Staplehurst, Kent in 200 Tesco stores across the UK.
Weather permitting, production could be up to 100 tonnes next year.
The release coincides with a growing UK love affair with the fruit, as in the last year, Brits bought 18 per cent more apricots than the previous year, according to Kantar Worldpanel data.
The arrival of homegrown apricots is also to be celebrated as the British growing season will allow production to be taken into September – a time when no other country in the world produces apricots.
Tesco lead fruit development manager Natalie Slack, said: “Not only do British shoppers enjoy arguably the best strawberries, cherries, apples and pears in the world grown here in the UK, but soon we could also have an apricot industry to rival that of France.
“Until a few years ago it was near impossible to grow apricots in the UK because of the climate, but with the selection of the right varieties and pruning of the trees to suit our weather as well as Nigel’s tenacity as a grower this existing project has been made possible.
“And ironically, the cooler British night time temperature is set to produce very high-quality apricots, as the fruit grows more slowly resulting in a more intense taste and stronger, richer colour.”
Tesco started working on the project with one of the UK’s biggest stone fruit growers, Nigel Bardsley, five years ago with view to launching major scale English apricot production.
Bardsley, a Tesco supplier for 25 years, enlisted a team of experts comprising breeders, agronomists and growers to create a production plan which culminated in the planting of eight hectares of orange-fleshed, French-type apricots.
After visiting French growers a few years ago, Bardsley planted 5,000 apricot trees across eight hectares of land, and the first fruit from his orchards will start arriving in Tesco stores this week (w/c 14 July).
Bardsley said: “There is a growing demand for apricots here in Britain, and if all goes well by next year I should see a return of 100 tonnes, and in the next two to three years an annual crop return of about 400 tonnes.
“When I heard about the new apricot cultivars that were available I jumped at the chance of getting these. The fruit we had before flowered too early, in March, when it was still too cold. It was far too risky which is why no one ever tried to grow them on a commercial basis.
“Generally, the British weather pattern has changed over the last few years and we now tend to be getting milder winters and later springs which suits apricot production.
“And because production will go into September then for the first time ever, we may soon have France, Spain, Portugal and other countries around the world buying apricots from Britain.”
Thursday night’s SuperMeat & Fish Awards celebrated the best British supermarkets have to offer, with Tesco winning overall retailer of the year.
Tesco took home the title of Meat and Fish Retailer of the Year as well as the Head office Initiative Award.
Head judge Fred A’Court, who was impressed with the Tesco stores, said: “A high level of consistent quality in its product range, allied to attention to detail and good availability throughout its stores helped Tesco to a good win in this year’s awards. It is now making progress in creating warmer, friendlier and distinctive shopping zones in some of its stores that make customers feel comfortable and relaxed while they shop.”
Attending the prestigious event in central London Mark Green, who collected the overall retailer award for Tesco told Meatinfo.co.uk: “This is the award we wanted and why we entered.“ Tesco are committed to develop and train staff and our fresh food capability sets us apart. From a head office perspective we are committed to train our staff, over the course of the year we have trained 3,000 colleagues on how to skin our meat and fish, right through to the finished product. We are really proud of the products we sell and the service that we offer our customers.“ When you look at the competition whether it be Aldi, Lidl or Morrison’s, everybody has done a great job and it is extremely competitive, so we are extremely proud to come out on top.” Ed Bedington, editor of Meat Trades Journal which organised the awards, said: “Many congratulations to Tesco – a most deserved win. The results, which saw Tesco perform consistently well throughout, show the amount of work the retailer has been doing to improve its quality.”
A total of 13 product awards and seven regional store awards were given out at the glitzy event presented by musician and television personality Myleene Klass.
Best Overall Product was awarded to Marks & Spencer for its Steak and Old Peculier Ale Pie. Morrisons Camden scooped two awards for Best Store Team and Best Meat Counter, while Tesco Superstore, Launceston, Cornwall was awarded Best Fish Counter. The most innovative product was given to Tesco for its Beef Lollipops with a Cherry BBQ Sauce.
This year’s ceremony also played host to the Tri-Nations Butchery Awards, held earlier in the day at the Great Yorkshire Show. This saw top butchers from Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand go head-to-head for the title. The Kiwis were crowned champions for the second consecutive year.
Bedington added: “This competition is a great showcase for the supermarket sector, and this year was no different, with a superb range of entries and a close-fought battle for every category. We look forward to seeing how Tesco defend their title next year, as I know the other retailers will be itching to get their hands on the crown.”
UK’s largest retailer announces completion of ‘milestone’ deal with Chinese firm CRE, creating China’s biggest food retailer
Tesco has completed a joint venture with Chinese retailer China Resources Enterprise (CRE) to create the largest food retailer in China.
Tesco will own 20% of the chain and CRE will own 80%, according to the BBC.
The move, first announced in October 2013, will join Tesco’s existing outlets in the country with CRE’s stores, known as Vanguard.
“We’re very pleased to have completed this historic agreement. The partnership creates a strong platform in one of the world’s largest markets,” said Tesco CEO, Philip Clarke. “We can now combine our strengths to build a profitable multichannel business, offering our customers in China the best of modern retail.”
Hong Jie, CEO of CRE, said the venture is a “major milestone” for CRE’s business development. “We believe that this partnership is one that combines the strength of both parties and enables the JV to become the leading multi-format retailer in Greater China, through improved operations, better growth and enhanced profitability,” he said.
Last month, Clarke confirmed the UK’s largest retailer is committed to pursuing “disciplined” international growth in light of falling annual group profits for the second year in a row.
He said the group would reduce its investment in Europe and focus on its high-returning markets in Asia, namely Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as new ventures in China and India.
In April, Tesco reported a 6% fall in group trading annual profit to £3.3bn and a drop in like-for-like sales by 1.4%.
Group trading profit was also down 5.6% in Asia to £692 m.