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With more people cooking from homes due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in the UK, a soar in vegetable sales has swept across the country, says a large-scale Lincolnshire-based grower.
TH Clements, which provides Tesco with much of its vegetables reported a hike in sales since March and credits two reasons. Firstly, more people are cooking from home and making meals from scratch. Secondly, the ‘boom’ in veganism is causing customers to buy more greens.
Cabbage and broccoli boom
TH Clements has seen the appetite for broccoli double, and cabbage demand is up by 30 percent.
Tesco also reported increased sales in cabbage and broccoli, up by more than 20 percent. There were also rises in sprouts, kale, and spinach.
The highest reported sales in green vegetables across the supermarket giant’s stores were leeks – with an increase of more than 30 percent.
‘Vegan booms’
“In the last year, sales of greens have particularly soared”, a spokesperson for TH Clements, Richard Mowbray, told Press Association.
In order to meet the demand, the grower is working closely with Tesco to plant more vegetables.
Richard added: “Greens became part of the nation’s staple post-war meat-and-two-veg diet at school and at home. But, many kids loathed them because they were made to eat them for health reasons.
“Sales eventually dropped off when fast food outlets began emerging here in the 70s and never fully recovered.
“The good news is that greens are now at their most popular for ages. A big part of that boom is the scratch cooking and vegan booms that are currently taking place.”
‘Plant-based revolution’
Ben Rowbotham, a Tesco vegetable buyer credited the ‘plant-based revolution’ for the rise in sales.
‘It’s down to a combination of the current plant-based revolution and lockdown which is giving people more time to cook from scratch and eat more healthily’, he said.
