Five of UK’s top grocers announce deep promotions on festive veg lines in week before Christmas Day
Five of the UK’s six biggest supermarkets have announced 15p vegetable deals in the lead-up to Christmas.
Tesco has reduced the price of core Christmas veg for Clubcard holders to 15p per pack, including carrots (1kg), Brussels sprouts (500g), parsnips (500g), and all-rounder potatoes (2kg). The offer runs from 18-25 December.
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s shoppers with a Nectar Card can buy Brussels sprouts, parsnips, carrots, swede, red cabbage, and potatoes for 15p each from 18-24 December.
Lidl is also slashing the price of various festive staples, from 19 to 24 December. British parsnips (500g), carrots (1kg) Brussels sprouts (500g), echalion shallots (300g), swede (each), and white potatoes (2kg) are all available for just 15p.
At fellow discounter Aldi, the offer (also available from 19 to 24 December) includes 2kg white potatoes, 1kg carrots, 500g parsnips, red and white cabbages (each), broccoli (each), and 500g Brussels sprouts.
And at Asda, 15p deals are available for 1kg carrots, 500g Brussels sprouts, 360g broccoli, and 500g parsnips – both in store and online, from 19 to 24 December.
This is the first year the Asda deal has included 2kg potatoes in the offer.
Reacting to the price cuts, British Growers CEO Jack Ward told The Guardian: “Is that really a cause for celebration? We are giving people a false impression of what’s involved in improving food.
“People ask: ‘If I can buy it for 15p at Christmas, why is it 65p the rest of the year?’ It completely devalues what are superfoods compared to a lot of other things consumed in Christmas week.
“There’s no denying that consumers like this kind of deep discounting but they have got to understand it comes at a cost.”
Ward added that although retailers take a hit on profit by discounting vegetables at Christmas, growers ultimately pay by having to accept lower prices throughout the year.
“Let’s not delude ourselves, the [cost of the] promotions are factored in somewhere along the way over the 12 months,” he said.
