Major potato supplier Albert Bartlett has launched a branded chilled range at Sainsbury’s with three new ready-prepared products arriving on shelves at the supermarket chain.
On 2 January the retailer began stocking Albert Bartlett’s Rooster Homestyle Fries, weighing 300g and priced at £1.50; Rooster Homestyle Chips, 400g at £2; and Parmentier Potatoes, 400g at £1.50. Each pack serves two and simply needs to be heated in the oven before eating.
The Parmentier Potatoes are diced with sunflower oil, garlic butter and a selection of herbs, namely basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram and rosemary.
The launch of the products, which are now available from 400-500 Sainsbury’s stores nationwide, follows the official opening in November of Albert Bartlett’s new chilled potato plant and development kitchen.
Capable of processing 50,000 tonnes of potatoes a year, the facility in Airdrie has allowed the company to develop new chilled products, attract new business and create 35 new jobs, with the Scottish government supporting Albert Bartlett by contributing £4 million towards the £17.7m investment.
The potato supplier’s head of marketing, Michael Jarvis, said: “We are delighted to announce the first Albert Bartlett branded chilled range to complement the own label lines we have been producing since we opened the plant in September.
“We are looking forward to supplying Sainsbury at the start of 2019. On our branded range we use UK-grown Albert Bartlett Rooster potatoes exclusivelyand we control the whole process from the raw potatoes to the finished product in our UK based premises.”
Having already established itself as one of the UK’s biggest suppliers of fresh potato products, Albert Bartlett moved into the frozen potato market in 2015 when it bought a potato factory in Norfolk previously used by Heinz. Now it has diversified its portfolio further with a move into the chilled arena.
