Marketing fresh produce lines to make them topical is far from new and we are no doubt in for a spate of FIFA World Cup-related activity in each of the major multiples.

Asda has pushed the boat out for England ahead of the beautiful game’s biggest tournament.

A Three Lions-branded crisp and sweet bagged salad of frisée, radicchio, lollo rosso and spinach, marketed under the national red, white and blue shield of lions and roses is priced at £1 for 200g.

The pack also features a chance to win a luxury gas barbecue - although to enter, participants feeling lucky must send in their “favourite footie salad recipe”.

Perhaps ironically, the supplier is French giant Soleco through its UK headquarters in Lichfield, better known for its Florette brand. Hopefully, we will go all the way in the competition in a bid to prolong customer appeal - here’s hoping for a replay of 1966.

Staying on the salad front, growing presentations have become all the rage. Sainsbury’s has introduced a live watercress punnet at 75p, which appears to be both novel and popular, with the display quickly selling out at my local branch.

While the appeal of the crop has always been that it grows in fresh running water, the boffins seem to have made a breakthrough in getting it on the shelf in its new guise.

High temperatures have done wonders for the berry business, if the weight of fruit on display is any indicator. Marks & Spencer has, under its Sweeter Variety sub-brand, judged Driscoll Jubilee - selected from more than 13,000 varieties - as the ultimate strawberry variety, at two for £5.

The retailer is also stocking King fruit on a stalk for dipping from the US.

This description also appears on English blackberries. Karaka Black is grown by Marion Regan and is also described in size as “impressive” - apparently, only a few varieties fit into this category.

English asparagus has won more than its fair share of column inches in the media and I wonder how long it will be before more journalists start featuring the lesser known purple varieties. Tesco has joined the club with Purple Crown, produced in Herefordshire.

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