Straight talking: Tesco to no longer sell traditional crescent-shaped croissants
Britain’s biggest supermarket chain said it polled shoppers after it noticed sales of crescent-shaped croissants were falling – and almost three-quarters said they preferred the straight version.
Shoppers also told Tesco they believe straighter croissants are better quality and “more sophisticated”.
And although the retailer sells one million crescent-shaped croissants a week, they will no longer be available in store from Friday (February 18).
The 'spreadability factor'
A key reason Brits have fallen out of love with the curvier croissant, said Tesco, is the “spreadability factor”.
“The majority of shoppers find it easier to spread jam, or their preferred filling, on a straighter shape with a single sweeping motion,” said Tesco croissant buyer Harry Jones. “With the crescent shaped croissants, it’s more fiddly.”
Most people took up to three attempts to achieve perfect coverage, added Tesco, which it said increases the potential for “accidents involving sticky fingers and tables”.
Other bakery changes
The move is part of range of improvements to Tesco bakery lines that will be rolling in the coming week, including:
- A gluten-free version of children’s celebration cake Carl the Caterpillar
- Quality upgrade for Tesco branded bread across the range
- More chocolate chips in Tesco own-label brioche
- More seeds on Tesco’s premium Finest sliced superseeded bread
- More sourdough added to Finest white bread
- The launch of folded flatbreads
