Creating a point of difference has long been one of the golden rules of retailing. Tesco has gone overboard recently with a range of new presentations to tempt customers, as well as some novel descriptions of traditional items.

For some time, it has been selling a pick ‘n’ mix loose range of baby red and yellow tomatoes sourced in France, and this week a new punnet has arrived containing these under the Meli Melo label, at £1.75. It has also come up with an unnamed Belgian variety at £1 for four, which has little juice and is “best for sandwiches”, as the label and accompanying sticker says it all.

Staying with the main ingredient of a salad, Marks & Spencer has a new introductory offer on vine-ripened fruit called Tomalini and produced in the UK, at £1.50 for 180g.

Up to now, I was always told that white mushrooms all derive from the same spawn - if that is the right word - but Tesco in its Just Discovered range has launched Irish-grown Forestiere, telling its customers that they are something special, with their sweeter and richer taste.

If readers think that FPJ has confused captions, nothing could be further from the truth. No, it’s not an apple, but what M&S describes as an “extremely sweet” pear from New Zealand, at 99p each. The retailer does not give much more information, however, except for simply its RFID code.

Sweet potatoes from the US have made an impact on the shelves as an increasingly mainstream line. Waitrose has taken its marketing further with the introduction of a further description, calling them Southern Sunshine. Grown in North Carolina at £1.89, the variety is also named Evangeline.

And finally, in line with the current nationalistic boost that British strawberries and asparagus are enjoying, the Union Jack is seen increasingly often on packaging. The most prominent to date must be green cabbage sold by Sainsbury’s, at 76p. Not only does the well-known flag appear twice, but it covers nearly half of the front of the bag.

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