In the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, Tesco invited 32 single shoppers looking for love to take part in a social experiment at its Hemel Hempstead Extra store in the east of England.
Each eligible shopper was asked to complete a shop for a Friday night in before a food behaviour psychologist analysed their basket.
“Our shopping baskets can say a lot about us – from our cooking and living habits to hints about our romantic personality,” Food Behaviour Psychologist Rachel Morris said. “We’ve all heard about love in the aisles and this is the next step.”
From the 32 shoppers, 16 couples were invited on a mini-date in Tesco’s produce aisle. Sparks flew between five couples and they were each treated to a special romantic date complete with champagne cocktails and a special Tesco ‘Valentine’s Menu’.
Khushbu Jamili, who matched with Radostin Cholokov, said: “I really enjoyed the experience and can see why I was matched with Radostin. I had cooking ingredients in my basket as I love to cook and he had cleaning products in his. Perhaps in future I can make dinner and then he can wash up afterwards. On the date it was clear there was a connection and we had a lot in common, so we’ve been chatting on WhatsApp ever since.”