After a month of in-store promotions and on-pack sticker display, Tesco has officially unveiled its new look for fruit and vegetable farm accreditation scheme Nature’s Choice as the consumer-facing brand Nurture.
Some 17 years in the making, the UK’s number-one retailer feels the time is right to relay to consumers the work its growers have been doing to become accredited to the scheme now to be known as Nurture.
Since its launch, 15,000 growers across 70 countries have become part of the programme, which focuses on good agricultural practice. Nurture is committed to producing top-quality fruit and vegetables, and supporting environment-friendly production by reducing energy usage, rationalising use of pesticides, recycling and improving efficiency.
Edward Palmer, Tesco’s category technical manager for fruit, told freshinfo: “This scheme was the first of its kind when launched in 1992 and has set the standard within the industry for best agricultural practice. The standard is based around our four key values: leading the way, commitment to quality, working in partnership, and caring for the environment. We are exceptionally proud of the relationships we have built with our growers and suppliers. Nurture is our commitment to customers through our growers that we know where our produce comes from and how it is grown.
“While it can be difficult sometimes to achieve the Nurture standard for growers, we are there to guide them through the process and work very closely with them all the way.”
Tesco brand manager Breige Donaghy maintained that Tesco’s growers were keen to promote the scheme to the public and that this week’s customer-facing launch is as much about them as it is about Tesco. “Our growers are committed to this standard and see the accreditation as a badge of honour,” she said. “Through the scheme we will champion bringing the best of seasonal produce and the best varieties to our customers. A key part of this will be delivered through our communication in stores.”
From May, Tesco will be making consumers aware of which fruit and vegetables are in season, as well as pushing forward variety names.
“Nurture allows us to follow the seasons and work with growers and suppliers to ensure consistent quality,” said Palmer, “as well as supporting new growers with their new products. For example, our new Orri clementine has only been available for the last 10 weeks and will only feature in some of our stores for another week before its season comes to an end. We are not going to force nature and it is important to work with our growers’ capabilities. With Nurture, they have a commitment from us that we are standing behind them. And the other side of it is that customers have the guarantee that the quality of the food will be excellent. We are not interested in ‘plastic fruit’; Nurture is all about delivering good eating quality produce, through best agricultural practice.”
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