Co-op is the first UK retailer to announce it is moving to 100% British Strawberries across its entire own brand range – hitting shelves two weeks ahead of last year and just in time for St George’s Day.
From 23rd April, the leading convenience retailer will exclusively offer only British strawberries for the summer season across its 2,400 UK stores and online as part of its commitment to back British farmers and growers.
The move is in response to Co-op committing to growers earlier than ever and move its entire range to British before anyone else, after a challenging year for British agriculture with difficult weather conditions.
Grown in Kent, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Hereford, growers of Co-op’s own-brand berries use measures to mitigate against the weather challenges such as cultivating crops in protected environments to ensure steady growth.
Co-op predicts sales of 1.42 million punnets of its own brand strawberries (£2.50, 227g) between St Georges Day and the bank holiday weekend (4-5th May).
Elizabeth Orme, fruit buyer at Co-op, said: “Marking the start of those warmer days to come, we’re looking forward to offering our members and customers the finest homegrown strawberries earlier than ever. Our partnership with local growers ensures great quality and supports British produce, helping to contribute to the growth of the local farming community which is something we’re passionate about.”
The transition to 100% British strawberries is part of Co-op’s ongoing commitment to backing British farmers and growers, and providing its member owners and customers with fresh, high-quality home-grown produce.
Co-op is a proud supporter of the NFU’s Fruit and Vegetable pledge, forming close working relationships with British farming and the home-grown fresh produce sector – a commitment which has been key to Co-op’s ambition to replicate the success of the 2023 season.
Last year Co-op was named ‘Retailer of the Year’ by British Berry Growers for achieving the highest growth in British berry sales with a total increase of 22.1% in volume sales across all berries.
