Potato Lovers news

QV Foods are pleased to announce the launch of an exclusive New season potato offer with Asda.

This year Mark & Ed Rowe, third generation farmers from Helston in Cornwall, have designated their very earliest growing land to deliver Cornish New potatoes, branded exclusively for Asda as Cornish Crystals™, into Asda’s stores on Thursday 21st April 2011, making them the earliest UK Mainland potato on any retailer’s shelf.

This has been enabled by several geographic factors;

• With its southerly location, fertile soil, and the benefits of the Gulf Stream Cornwall has a significant competitive edge over other growing areas and is thus able to produce a harvestable crop some 2 weeks ahead of any other UK growing region.


• The very earliest Cornish potatoes are grown on south facing coastal slopes to take advantage of milder climatic conditions and maximum sunlight hours to bring these new season potatoes to maturity as early as possible.

This has also been combined with a lot of hard work & experience from the Rowe Family who farm across 2500 acres;

• The seed is carefully selected, chitted by hand over winter, and then hand planted with chits facing skyward. This gives them a head start in terms of growth.


• It will also be harvested at dawn and delivered to depot the following day to maximise the freshness.

QV Foods Asda Commercial Manager Mark Allmond commented “It is has been a great opportunity for QV Foods to work with fantastic farming family in Mark & Ed Rowe on such an exciting project. The opportunity to bring Cornish Crystals™ exclusively to Asda this early in the season & for the first time has taken a lot of hard work & effort throughout the supply chain & we look forward to building on this in the seasons to come”.

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