Sainsbury's bears fruit

Sainsbury's is hoping to repeat its asparagus coup with new TV adverts featuring celebrity chef Jamie Oliver enthusing about English strawberries.

Sales of asparagus tripled and stocks ran out after the Sainsbury's ads.

The group pays the chef £1.2 million a year. With Wimbledon on, the next couple of weeks will see peak sales for strawberries.

The company reported a second consecutive rise in quarterly sales and chief executive Justin King said the recovery programme remains on track.

Sainsbury's has also signed a six-year deal with Comic Relief as a sponsor which will run until 2011.