A NEW CAMPAIGN being launched by Asda to encourage people not to discriminate against vegetables based on their shape.
The #BuyWonky campaign was launched earlier this month and has been garnering attention on social media in recent days.
Five selected stores are selling a trial range of ‘Beautiful on the Inside’ fruit and vegetables at a reduced cost.
The American-owned, British-based company is the second largest retailer in the United Kingdom after Tesco.
The campaign
The new initiative has been launched alongside television chef Jamie Oliver.
As part of the process, the store says it will be selling “crooked carrots, knobbly pears, wonky spuds and more, all sold reduced rates in their own dedicated in-store fixture.”
The campaign came to wider attention after featuring in Channel 4 programme ‘Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast’ in which Jamie Oliver and farmer Jimmy Doherty spoke to farmers who had difficulty in selling their misshapen fruit and veg.
Wonky veg
In a survey that the store themselves carried out it was found that 75% of their customers would not mind eating wonky veg.
Speaking about the campaign, Asda’s produce technical director, Ian Harrison, said:
There is still work to be done in encouraging customers to give ‘wonky’ fruit and veg a go, but we hope our campaign will break down some of those barriers and make ‘ugly’ food more accessible for shoppers and families.
The store does not operate any branches in the Republic of Ireland although last summer announced plans to process credit card payments through an Irish subsidiary.
Read: Irish ‘food-to-go’ giant Greencore is making a billion-dollar play for US stomachs
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