Pineapples have suddenly become Britain's fastest growing fruit with demand at an all-time high.

Even sales of the 'marmite' of all pizzas, the Hawaiian, are soaring as shoppers make pineapples Britain's fastest-growing fruit.

In the last year demand for whole pineapples at Tesco has soared by nearly 15 per cent with more shoppers buying the fruit because of its versatility as an ingredient in main dishes, desserts and juices.

And it's not just the whole fruit itself that has become really popular – demand for it is rising across many other areas of the food and drink spectrum too.

Tesco has been responding by introducing new pineapple varieties, including prepared snacking slices for added convenience.

In the last year, Tesco has continued to help customers enjoy the fruit by offering a wide choice of pineapple products, seeing sales of:

  • Pineapple juice up by more than 20 per cent.
  • Hawaiian pizzas, traditionally the most divisive of pizzas – up by more than 15 per cent.
  • Snacking pineapple fingers up by 30 per cent.
  • Tinned pineapple chunks up by five per cent.
Tesco fresh pineapple buyer Morgan Jaquemet said:

“Pineapples have become the fruit taste of the moment and could soon rival the avocado as a once niche fruit suddenly gaining mainstream popularity.

“In the last few years we have seen demand jump because of the fruit's rising popularity as a versatile and healthy food – it's even made its way onto the BBQ in the summer months now.

“We've been focused on making it easy for our customers to enjoy this fruit, and have introduced a range of prepared snacking pineapple cut into finger sized shapes which are popular as a healthy lunchbox treat for schoolkids.

“Last year we even sold pineapples at Halloween as a rival to the pumpkin for kids to carve into a scary face.”

Another reason for the popularity of the fruit has been growing interest in healthy foods with pineapples containing good amounts of vitamin C. 80g of tinned or fresh pineapple is one of your five a day.

In the last two years pineapple production in Costa Rica, the leading supplier of the fruit to Europe and the USA has increased by nearly 10 per cent.