Greenvale AP is to launch a brand-new salad potato variety for the Tesco Finest range this week.
Sofia has been developed in conjunction with Tesco and will initially be available exclusively as part of the premium range, at selected stores nationwide from August 17.
The small- to medium sized variety, which has lemon-coloured flesh, was bred by Agrico Research BV and is from parent varieties not previously released to the market place.
Paul Coleman, technical director at Greenvale, said: “Tesco was looking for something a little different for the Finest range, so we developed the Sofia variety to combine the waxy texture that customers love with a unique softness to the bite not found in traditional salad potatoes, which tend to be hard. This bite, coupled with a hint of sweetness, give Sofia potatoes their delicious flavour and make them ideal for all salads and fish dishes.”
Sofia was nationally listed in 2004 and has shown promise in Greenvale’s extensive variety testing over four years, culminating in its approval by Tesco’s customer tasting panel.
The variety is in seed production throughout the UK with some of Greenvale’s top producers and it is being grown by its elite ‘salad club’ across the South, from Cornwall to the Suffolk coast.
The first samples for the Tesco Finest launch were reviewed by growers at Mark Thompson’s Sussex Barn near Brancaster, Norfolk, in July 2008.
Robert Baird, procurement manager at Greenvale’s Floods Ferry site, which is one of the dedicated pack-houses for the Tesco potatoes, said: “The quality looked superb and the Sofia potatoes will be handled as gently as eggs when we lift them in to store over the coming week.”
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