Cobnuts make retail breakthrough
 
Kent cobnut growers have received a boost from Yorkshire through additional multiple retailer programmes with Asda and Morrisons.

Picking of the largest crop for many years is well under way and the Leeds and Bradford based chains are taking volume for the first time this season.

John Cannon, chairman of the Kentish Cobnuts Association (KCA) told FPJ: “We will have a crop of between 250 and 300 tonnes this year, which is the result of around 50 acres of young plantations coming on stream in the last couple of years.”

Sainsbury’s and Waitrose were alone in marketing the crop through supermarkets last season, and again have substantial programmes in 2006. But, for the first time, Asda is committed to stocking cobnuts in its 11 Kent stores, through supplier AMS, while Morrisons is more ambitiously looking to spread the supply nation-wide. Sales are also steady through Cardiff and Southampton wholesale markets, said Cannon, who attributes much of the credit for opening the new avenues to the work of marketing desk KG Fruits.

“We have been working towards this for four to five years,” he added. “And the new plantations are indicative of growers’ belief in the future of cobnuts. The significant increase in labour costs this year has so far been compensated by a rise of a few pence in prices, which is very important for us.”

Sun 10 Sep 06