At first I thought this might be a joke, but apparently not. Wolverhampton entrepreneur Entrepreneur Adrian Nantchev is making £1,000 a week writing personalised messages on potatoes and then anonymously mailing them to unsuspecting recipients specified by the customer. He says he got the idea after seeing something similar in America and a quick Google search backs up his story.

Last May, Alex Craig from Texas launched Potato Parcel, a website that will ship an inscribed Russet potato to your friends (or enemies) anonymously. The 24-year-old has averaged $10,000 per month in sales since the business launched in May 2015. He has sold more than 3,000 spuds in just four months.

These businesses are being marketed as an alternative to greeting cards. I’m not sure about the longevity of a business like this, but it does raise an interesting question – if you can make money mailing potatoes, what else could you mail for profit?

Website: www.potatointhepost.com