UK supermarket trials in-store avocado scanners to read ripeness of fruit

A UK supermarket is trialling in-store avocado scanners that allow shoppers to assess the ripeness of the fruit before purchase so they can pick the right one for them.

Tesco said the machines, which will be in five stores from this week, work like a tiny X-ray to read what the fruit looks like inside.

Shoppers can hold an avocado in front of the scanner and it will return one of two ripeness readings – immediately ready for smashing, or better used to be sliced in a salad.

The technology, called the One Third Avocado Scanner and named after the Dutch company which invented it, can measure the ripeness of an avocado in seconds.

Tesco avocado buyer Lisa Lawrence said: “The scanner will enable shoppers to choose the avocado that is right for them and which therefore can help them plan their usage and desired shelf life, thereby cutting down on waste.

“Smashed avocado on sourdough continues to be one of the trendiest snacks at the moment, garnering millions of views on social media sites for recipe ideas, so we think, for that reason, the scanner will be really popular with shoppers.”

The Tesco stores trialling the scanner will be: Cheshunt Extra in Hertfordshire; Colchester Superstore in Essex; Stratford-upon-Avon Superstore in Warwickshire; Wokingham Superstore in Berkshire and Salisbury Extra in Wiltshire.

Tesco said avocados have never been more popular and in the last year it sold nearly 15 million more avocados than it did in the previous 52 weeks.

The supermarket giant has worked with global avocado supplier Westfalia Fruit, based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, on the project.

Westfalia Fruit’s commercial manager Emma Howes said the scanner is “just one of many initiatives we’ve worked on over the past year”.

She said other initiatives included trialling lasered avocados which removes the plastic label from Tesco’s loose avocado lines, and rolling out cardboard and paper packaging across all Tesco’s avocado pre-packed lines.

She said this helped in “saving 20 million pieces of plastic a year”.