Sales of stonefruit, berries and flowers have seen strong growth in Waitrose.
In a trading update for the week to 10 February, supply chain director Wim van Aalst reported that stonefruit sales rose 17 per cent compared to the same week last year, with raspberries and blackberries both up 28 per cent and blueberry sales up 53 per cent.
In the run up to Valentine's Day, strawberry sales also rose 11 per cent, with flowers up by more than 28 per cent.
The increase in flower sales comes as the supermarket launched a £35 Language of Love bouquet this week, featuring a range of bright rainbow-coloured roses. Waitrose said it had been created to 'reflect the diversity of relationships and celebrate love', with the rainbow often used to represent the LGBT community.
The bouquet features an array of rainbow roses, with each colour symbolising a different meaning - such as pink roses representing sweetness, grace and gratitude and orange roses symbolising desire and fascination.
Waitrose florist Chris Wood said: 'Flowers are for everyone to enjoy, especially on the most romantic day of the year, Valentine's Day. This year we wanted to offer a wider selection of bouquets that recognises the diversity of our customers and have a choice of flowers that appeals to everyone in love.'
