There is more to being a winner in the grocery stakes than just low price – and today fresh seems to be at the heart of everything.

On visiting a Tesco superstore in Southampton on Friday it was apparent, from the way the manager knew all about it to the appearance of the store itself, that when it comes to food, fresh is all – whether it’s warm, baked bread or broccoli.

Putting fresh first

Tesco has a ‘first for fresh’ programme at the moment

Tesco Queensway

Tesco has a ‘first for fresh’ programme at the moment

Tesco, in fact, has a ‘first for fresh’ programme at the moment, which is set to see further changes to what has already been a fairly substantial drive to achieve this aim. These principally consist of equipment that allows shoppers to see the product “first” – it’s as simple (and complex) as that.

But fresh means rather more than just a lot of produce the shopper can get at easily. In Tesco’s case, it has meant putting a large amount of light-coloured wood around the fixtures, presumably because if it looks ‘natural’ then there will be a ‘fresh’ halo effect around the produce. And if it is done well, it works.

“If fresh is part of a larger shop then it’s easier than going to the market, even if that is just around the corner”

Consider the Sainsbury’s and Waitrose outposts on Islington’s Liverpool Road. Not only are they next door to each other, but they are also very close to Chapel Market. The latter is a long strip of fresh traders (if you arrive early in the morning), offering meat and veg, and it’s generally cheaper than either Sainsbury’s or Waitrose.

Yet both the market and supermarkets co-exist because these Waitrose and Sainsbury’s stores do fresh well. And if fresh is part of a larger shop then it’s easier than going to the market, even if that is just around the corner.

Fresh also acts as a mild distraction from that other preoccupation of all supermarkets: price. Even the discounters make fresh a major part of what they do, and they may well be cheaper than Chapel Street – or other street markets for that matter.

Market appeal

This whole thing might actually be termed the ‘Wholefoods Market effect’ as this US retailer’s offer has long been posited on both doing fresh well and making an interior feel like an exterior market.

And there is a lot more to be gained by being good at fresh than heading into a war where margins are progressively slashed and older branches become increasingly threadbare as an attempt is made to square the circle and maintain profitability.

Price matters, a lot, but so does fresh appeal. It’s every bit as important… and it has the potential to preserve margin.