Organic grower and box scheme supplier Tolhurst Organic Produce is launching a line of speciality potatoes for its box scheme customers.

Iain Tolhurst told freshinfo: “The potatoes all have unusual colours, like purple or black, or curious shapes or names. We find our customers want to be more adventurous and it is also for a bit of novelty value really.”

Tolhurst has found that with the economic downturn, the company has had a fall-off in numbers using its box scheme, but that those customers that have remained loyal are spending more. He said: “The organic market had a five-year period of unprecedented growth before this... I think that in another year or two, things will pick up again.”

There are definitely some green shoots for the company already. Tolhurst said: “We have seen a huge growth in the popularity of squash. People have got more used to using them and they are certainly a big growth area.”

Topics