Alan Titchmarsh joines Waitrose to promote the British apple
Presented by Alan Titchmarsh, the 40 second advert celebrates the very best of the British apple season.
Waitrose is stocking over 50 varieties of apple this year. In the height of the season, 70% of the apples Waitrose sell will be British. With sales up 18% year on year and a 9.7% market share last year in British apples and pears, Waitrose has a history of encouraging new varieties from British growers.
The advert was filmed at the orchard of long-standing Waitrose grower Jeremy Linsell, who is based in Eye, Norfolk. Jeremy supplies the majority of his apple crops to Waitrose which includes Suffolk Pink apples, an exclusive variety to the supermarket. With half of his crop damaged by hail in 2011, Jeremy worked together with Waitrose buyers to ensure his apples, which tasted great but had slightly mottled skin, were sold in bags labelled ‘weather blemished apples'. Waitrose is continuing to sell weather blemished apples from other growers affected by poor weather in 2013.
However, it seems 2013 has been a great year overall for the British apple as Waitrose apple buyer, Greg Sehringer, explains: ‘The crop of British apples is particularly delicious this year, thanks to the warm summer we’ve just enjoyed. Sugar levels are higher than usual and the skin is smoother with less russet, which is fantastic news for both our growers and customers.’