Vales Sovereign, a new potato from Greenvale AP, won 'Variety of the Year' in the Tesco Fresh Produce Category.

The coveted Variety of the Year award looks at all produce, including fruit as well as vegetables, and the Greenvale team was overjoyed when their 'humble spud' was crowned king of the till. 

"We are delighted to win this award for Vales Sovereign,"says Paul Coleman, technical director of Greenvale. "The variety has now firmly established itself within the Tesco offering." 

Greenvale AP is the UK's largest supplier of fresh potatoes and its new potato variety was bred for both flavour and versatility. An outstanding 'all rounder', Vales Sovereign works well in any potato recipes and is especially good mashed or baked in the jacket. Vales Sovereign has the creamy taste and soft, velvety texture that made classic British varieties like King Edward and Maris Piper the nation's favourites. Even plain boiled it tastes delicious.  

Vales Sovereign's characteristics have clearly struck a chord, both with Tesco and the retailer's customers. Highly successful trials in 2007 were followed by sales of 25,000 tonnes in 2008, projected to rise to 40,000 tonnes in 2009. 

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. In fact, growers have also embraced the new variety. "Vales Sovereign resulted from our collaboration with the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI),"says Paul Coleman. "It has been well received by growers and consumers alike.  The variety has proved to be a robust performer on unirrigated land and has a reduced requirement for nitrogen fertiliser, qualities which are hugely important for the environment and control of growing costs."