Vales Sovereign Gets Picked Again
Greenvale AP’s Vales Sovereign potato is proving a real winner. Tesco has chosen Vales Sovereign to be the top potato for making potato wedges in its new ‘Ideal For’ range. The ‘Ideal For’ range selects the best varieties to bring about perfect cooking results every time.
Tesco developed the ‘Ideal For’ range after research showed that many customers didn’t know which potato variety to buy for which type of cooking process. Tesco selected Vales Sovereign with its classic large oval shape and attractive red blushes to the skin, creamy taste and soft and velvety texture as the variety that is perfect for cutting into wedges and baking in the oven.
"Vales Sovereign is something new to put in the potato section," says Tim Pratt, produce technical manager for Tesco. "By working in partnership with Greenvale we have introduced a highly successful new potato variety."
Vales Sovereign was bred by the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) to be resistant to diseases and grow well in a wide range of weather conditions. This makes Vales Sovereign especially attractive for growers plus it is more environmentally friendly than other varieties, requiring less water and less fertiliser.
"This is indeed an exciting variety for growers, packers and consumers alike," says John Rix of P G Rix Farms who has been growing Vales Sovereign on his farm in Essex. "It has an excellent tuber quality with no evidence of growth cracking."
Sales of the popular Vales Sovereign are growing rapidly from an already impressive base of 15,000 tonnes, with Tesco planning for 60,000 tonnes over the next 18 months.
"Vales Sovereign is really taking off," says Paul Coleman, technical director at Greenvale. "It’s the most successful new variety for decades. Being chosen as an "Ideal For" potato is another feather in its cap after being chosen as Tesco Variety of the Year in 2008."
For more information visit the Greenvale AP website at www.greenvale.co.uk
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Editor’s notes
Greenvale AP is the UK’s leading supplier of fresh potatoes and was awarded the Queens Award for Innovation in 2006. Greenvale AP now supplies the UK’s premier retailers, caterers and processing outlets with quality potatoes, meeting the high standards demanded by the UK market.
Greenvale AP has developed sites in the major potato growing areas across the UK, resulting in three state of the art potato-packing operations situated in Shropshire, Berwickshire and Cambridgeshire. The company also has sales and marketing offices across the UK, including in Norfolk, Suffolk, Somerset, Hereford and Yorkshire. Greenvale AP’s Seed Potato operation is managed from a specialist office at Burrelton, near Perth in Scotland.
Vales Sovereign, a new potato variety from Greenvale AP, won ‘Variety of the Year’ in the Tesco Fresh Produce Category Awards, held on November 20th 2008 at Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. Announcing the award, Alex Dower, the Category Director for Tesco, commended both the sales performance and Greenvale’s work in escalating the availability of Vales Sovereign.