Potatoes may not be the most attractive product on the shelves but over the last few weeks no one can deny that there are more and more varieties and packs coming forward.

With the festive season in mind, Asda is again selling its red-skinned tuber. The festive Rudolf, in the Extra Special range, is grown in Suffolk and priced at £1.87 for 2kg - this time of year represents a perfect selling opportunity.

And something that will appeal to conservationists is a pack of spuds carrying the National Trust label, as well as the LEAF and Red Tractor logos, at £1.37 for the same weight.

This is modern marketing, far from the days when greengrocers used to sell dirty potatoes loose and wrap up customers’ purchases in newspaper. But even if a clean, polythene bag is now dispensed on the shelf, it is very unusual to see them racked up in trays as with the variety, Dirk, which comes from the Netherlands.

Herbs seem to be winning more shelf space, which may be one of the reasons why sourcing is also widening. Turkey is not the first country that springs to mind, but Sainsbury’s is selling its chives at 68p for 25g.

It is always intriguing to see how far prepared products encroach into the fresh section. Sweet white baby pearl onions usually arrive in jars if I am not mistaken, but Tesco has 100g in trays on an introductory offer of £1.

And sticking to the white winter theme, Peru dominates the asparagus market for months on end but it is not often that the less popular white varieties arrive in the UK. Waitrose obviously believes that there is an opportunity, with a 300g pack launched last week in selected stores, priced at £2.99.

I suppose it is all about what customers want, so why not ask them? Asda has taken this further than most retailers by individually labelling a new addition to its mango range. Australian Kensington Pride, at £2 each, carry a blue sticker asking: “Do you like this?” Answers please to variety@iplasda.co.uk.

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