Higher welfare sausages and Chicken Kievs fly off shelves

Farmer Jimmy Doherty has proved that British shoppers care about free range, affordable and higher welfare meat as his chicken kievs,  launched in Tesco on 16th April, have sold in their tens of thousands per week and continue to be one of best sellers in this category.  The supermarket is so delighted with the results that it has increased the number of stores who stock these products from around 380 to 750 

Jimmy's sausages are also proving a great success and sales will  be extended from around 130 to 265 stores.    In the nine weeks since their launch, the kievs are selling six times the volume compared to their first week and continue on an upward trend.  The sausages are selling 17 times the volume of their first week.

Channel 4  series Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket, which aired in June, saw the farmer look  at three of Tesco's bestselling meat products - meatballs, sausages and chicken Kiev's - with a view to creating higher welfare alternatives at affordable prices.  In this bold experiment, Jimmy worked alongside Tesco as well as farms and factories which supply them to discover how their best sellers are made, and then went on the hunt for the cheap, high-quality cuts that are not usually used and turned them into mass-market products that could appeal to the price conscious shopper.

Part of Jimmy's quest was to encourage the sale of free range and higher welfare Rose veal and to address the stigma associated with the product. As a result Tesco has recently confirmed that they have made the decision to stock Rosé veal in the next six to eight months.

Jimmy Doherty said: "I'm absolutely thrilled that we've been able to offer consumers something that doesn't hit their pocket and also gives them the option to eat ethically. It's fantastic that they are proving so successful. Long may it continue! I'm also delighted that the Rose veal campaign has been embraced so positively, it's testament to everyone's hard work and belief that Rose veal will be on offer to consumers by Christmas."

Andrew Yaxley, Commercial Director at Tesco, added, "This is the first mass-market free range chicken kiev in the UK and we're delighted that it is doing so well in store so quickly. Working with Jimmy, our aim was to give customers more choice and access to higher welfare meat even when their budgets are tight."