Cambridgeshire root crop specialist Alan Bartlett & Sons has introduced a new range of branded fresh soups it is selling exclusively through Tesco.

Bartlett’s Bowlfuls is a premium-quality range in three flavours that is in Tesco throughout East Anglia and London from this week with further rollouts planned nationwide in the coming months.

There are three flavours in the range: Carrot & Ginger, British Onion, and Parsnip & Honey. Bartlett’s Bowlful’s is thought to be the first commercially available fresh soup grower brand to hit the shelves of a major retailer.

All the fresh ingredients used to create the soups are grown exclusively on Alan Bartlett & Sons’ farms.

Toby Bartlett, commercial manager said: “All our soups are manufactured with a very high fresh vegetable content which sets them apart from the rest.

'Our benchmarking has revealed that consumers enjoy the fresh taste and texture of our soups but also respond positively to the fact that the brand offers locally sourced, seasonal produce direct from the farm.”

The Bartlett Bowfuls launch is being supported with a series of regional tasting events, promotional marketing and in-store activity that will look to cross-promote the soups with the established fresh products.

Simon Dryell, senior buying manager from Tesco’s local-sourcing team said: “We are delighted that Tesco is the first retailer to introduce the new range onto our shelves. Local has a major part to play throughout the business with recent research highlighting that 54 per cent of our customers are buying more local products than they were five years ago, with 34 per cent buying more local food than they did just a year ago.”

The soups come in pots priced a £2.20 per 600g serving.