● Sales of Waitrose asparagus has skyrocketed 50% compared to this time last year
● Searches on Waitrose.com for ‘asparagus’ and ‘asparagus tips’ up 120% and 99% compared to this time last year
● Asparagus recipe searches on Waitrose.com up 133% in the last month
Waitrose has welcomed an extra early asparagus season which is due to arrive in shops from 26th February, 8 weeks earlier than normal, with Waitrose customers able to enjoy British Asparagus for even longer this year.
Sam Witherington, Waitrose Vegetable Buyer comments, “We’ve seen phenomenal demand for asparagus at Waitrose already this year with sales up 50%. We know how much our customers enjoy home-grown British asparagus which is why we’re delighted to be the first retailer to have this year’s harvest on our shelves.”
Compared to this time last year, searches on Waitrose.com:
● ‘Asparagus’ +120%
● ‘Asparagus tips’ +99%
Over the last month, recipe searches on Waitrose.com:
● ‘Asparagus recipes’ +133%
● ‘Asparagus, salad onion & basil risotto’ +200%
● ‘Green panzanella with poppy seed croutons (with asparagus)’ +50%
● ‘Asparagus with green harissa & tahini’ +32%
Asparagus grower, Sandy Booth of New Forest Fruit says, “We’ve been developing our asparagus plantation and using microbiology to create the richest possible compost for our asparagus. By keeping the roots warmer throughout the winter, we’ve been able to deliver the earliest ever harvest for Waitrose. By using recycled compost from our strawberry crops, we’re able to reuse around 4.5 million litres of leftover matter and use microbiology to create the richest possible compost for our asparagus.”
This first of the season UK asparagus can be found exclusively in 15 Waitrose stores for £3.50 from 26th February, with stock availability building from March, into April and full availability expected by the end of April/May.
Grower: New Forest Fruit (supplied via Primafruit)
