A DORSET superfood company is enjoying a sales boom due to the ongoing vegetable crisis.

The Watercress Company has seen its sales almost double as the superfood is immune to the poor growing conditions in Europe affecting other veg.

With supermarket shelves being stripped bare of lettuce, spinach and courgettes because of the shortage of produce, it appears consumers are turning to watercress as an alternative.

Devastating floods in Spain, which supplies 80 per cent of fresh produce to Britain during winter, has wiped out crops of green vegetables and salad produce. While watercress is grown in the same region, it has remained unaffected by the weather as it needs wet conditions to grow.

The Watercress Company, based near Moreton, sold 650,000 bags or 50,000kg of the nutrient-rich salad last week compared to an average of 350,000 bags for this time of year.

Meanwhile vegetable rationing continues in the UK’s biggest supermarkets, with Sainsbury’s restricting sales on whole heads of lettuce and Tesco continuing their policy to sell no more than three lettuces at a time.

Tom Amery, managing director at the The Watercress Company which also owns a large farm in Spain where it is grown over winter, said: “Over the last two weeks sales of watercress have doubled.

“There have been times during this shortage when watercress has been the only product in the vegetable aisle. While almost every other one has been wiped out, our product was the only one to survive because it can withstand such severe wet weather.

“No matter how much rain you give watercress it keeps on growing.

“Savvy shoppers who can’t find what they’re looking for think about an alternative and go for watercress instead.”

“People are reverting to some of the nation’s favourite old sandwiches like egg and watercress or salmon and watercress.”

And with the conditions unlikely to improve until spring, watercress suppliers expect sales to reach an all time high.

Mr Avery added: “It looks likely there won’t be a full recovery this side of the UK season which starts in April-May.

“We have increased production of watercress to be ready for this. We are encouraging supermarkets to continue filling the gaps with it and we expect our sales to remain strong for the next few months.

“Watercress really is the perfect replacement for vegetables that have been washed away and we have it in plentiful supply.

“It’s on a par with many other vegetables in terms of nutrition and has high levels of vitamin C.”

The vegetable shortage is believed to have cost supermarket giants like Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys £8m last month, with sales of spinach, lettuce and courgettes half of what they should be.