The biggest ever survey into Brits’ grape-buying preferences is in full swing, aiming to pinpoint exactly what British consumers look for when selecting grapes.
Called Fruitology™, the trial is unfolding in Tesco stores throughout the UK, where hundreds of table grape flavour and texture profiles—made possible by advances in natural varietal development—are on offer.
The ground-breaking trials to establish precisely what British shoppers want are being conducted exclusively by Tesco, under the Jaffa® brand, in conjunction with Peterborough-based global fruit importers AMT FRESH, parent company AMFRESH Group, and leading global fruit developers, BLOOMFRESH.*
In an effort to gauge shoppers’ preferences, Tesco is selling grapes in packaging labelled according to one of three main attributes: tropical flavour, candy flavour, or crunchiness.
Early feedback from these trials, which are happening in 220 large format Tesco stores across the country, indicates that UK consumers favour their grapes mainly for crunchy texture, followed by tropical flavour and lastly, candy flavour.
Tesco Fruit Technical Manager James Cackett explains: “If you ask anyone how many grape varieties there are, most people are likely to tell you three – red, green and black.
“And that was pretty much the case until the turn of the century when fruit breeders began looking at how to naturally improve flavour, crunchiness and sweetness, which is a wholly natural process, to deliver better quality grapes all round.
“Now with the advance in breeding technology we have the possibility to draw from many hundreds of new grape varieties which will allow us to deliver exactly what our customers want, and that’s the reason why we have set up these trials.
“The Fruitology™ trials allow us to better gauge and understand the attributes our shoppers prefer.”
AMT Fresh, also well-known for supplying Tesco with other fruit and veg, recently gained attention for introducing richer tasting mandarins to the UK. Rachel Botha, Head of Commercial at AMT Fresh, offers further insight into this new grape-focused initiative:
“This project, which we are implementing with Tesco through the Jaffa brand, is the most far-reaching research ever undertaken in the UK to understand British consumers’ table grape eating preferences, redefining the way they are segmented and marketed.
“We are working with the world’s foremost fruit breeding companies to supply the grapes that British shoppers want to consistently see on supermarket shelves. Thanks to advances in technology we now have the ability to do just that.
“The Fruitology™ project reflects the strengths of our breeding programmes, the commitment of growers eager to explore new possibilities, and Tesco’s openness to pioneering shopper-focussed initiatives.”
*BLOOMFRESH is part of the AMFRESH Group.
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