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Tesco is undertaking what is said is the “biggest ever survey” to discover which grapes customers prefer. Grapes sold at Tesco stores will be labelled with descriptions of their taste or texture as part of the new trial, dubbed “Fruitology” by the retailer.
Labels on grapes usually only say whether they are green, red, or black, and whether they contain seeds or not. Grapes sold under the Jaffa brand at Tesco will give customers more detail about their qualities. Labels will describe the grapes as having a crunchy texture, a tropical flavour, or a candy floss flavor.
Read more: The 9 Healthiest Fruits, According To Nutritionists
“The Fruitology trials allow us to better gauge and understand the attributes our shoppers prefer,” Tesco Fruit Technical Manager James Cackett said in a statement. Trials are now underway at 220 large Tesco stores across the UK.
New varieties
There are now hundreds of grape flavors and textures due to developments in breeding the fruit. Through “a wholly natural process,” fruit breeders are now able “to deliver better quality grapes all round,” said Cackett.
Preliminary customer feedback indicates that UK shoppers favor a crunchy texture. A tropical flavour is the next most favored characteristic, with candy floss flavor being last.
“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,” Rachel Botha, Head of Commercial at AMT Fresh said in a statement. “Thanks to advances in technology we now have the ability to do just that. This project … 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.”
Read more: Eating More Fruit And Veg ‘Equivalent To Walking 4,000 Extra Steps A Day’
