Waitrose increases sales of loose vegetables and refillables this Christmas
Waitrose & Partners has increased orders of its best-selling loose vegetables by 75% year-on-year this Christmas following demand from environmentally-savvy shoppers.
The retailer said it is seeing significant growth in the uptake of of unpackaged produce as sales of packaged vegetables declines.
Over the last ten months, sales of loose broccoli and parsnips have risen by 8% and 6% respectively. This compares to a decline in sales of the items a year ago.
Sales of loose carrots and loose red potatoes are are also up with respective increases of 21% and 23% in the last two months alone. In addition, sales of loose sprouts are outperforming their packaged versions by 5%.
Waitrose & Partners fresh produce buyer Paul Bidwell, said: “For the last 20 years the convenience of packaged produce has seen it outsell loose, but as consumers have become increasingly environmentally conscious and wanting to buy only what they need, we could be returning to how people used to shop with loose produce making a big comeback.
“We know we have a lot of work still to do to encourage customers to buy more loose fruit and vegetables, but there are signs we are seeing a shift in customer behaviour and we want to build on that momentum.”
The supermarket has also revealed that sales of refillables at its four pilot Waitrose Unpacked shops are outselling their packaged equivalent by 68%. Unpackaged products include pasta, lentils, cereals, frozen fruit, coffee, wine and beer.
