British Berries Take Centre Court Ahead Of Wimbledon

British-grown berries were being served up to shoppers in the run-up to Wimbledon, as SPAR shone a spotlight on the season’s first home-grown soft fruit.

Ahead of the tournament, which began this week, SPAR Sedbergh in Cumbria hosted a sampling event featuring Good Natured Berries’ International Taste Award-winning AVA™ Magnum strawberries and AVA™ Monet raspberries.

The event gave shoppers the chance to taste the first British berries of the season, with the timing neatly aligned with one of the biggest moments in the British summer calendar.

Few pairings say Wimbledon quite like strawberries, warm weather and a bit of patriotic produce pride.

The activity follows a convenience sector first last month, when James Hall & Co. Ltd began stocking Good Natured Berries in its G&E Murgatroyd company-owned SPAR stores, as well as supplying the fruit to independently owned SPAR retailers.

The SPAR North of England range now includes Good Natured Berries strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, with blackberries due to arrive in stores later in the season.

Angus Soft Fruits has also supported James Hall & Co. Ltd’s Win With Every Goal campaign with Good Natured Berries products, forming part of a wider summer sports promotion.

Wilf Whittle, Head of Category Buying for Fresh at James Hall & Co. Ltd, said: “The SPAR Sedbergh sampling event was well timed as we enter the British berry season, and customers responded positively to the quality and value of the Good Natured Berries range.

“There was strong engagement between the store team and shoppers, and we even had a customer travel 20 miles to attend. Hundreds of pounds worth of soft fruit was sold during the morning, representing a strong result for a midweek trading day.”

Jill Witheyman, Head of Marketing at Angus Soft Fruits and Good Natured Berries, said: “We had warm weather, the right location, and suitable products for our sampling session in Sedbergh as we look ahead to the Wimbledon tournament.

“It was a pleasure to hold the tasting event, and customers responded positively to the berries. Our thanks go to the store team at SPAR Sedbergh and to everyone at James Hall & Co. Ltd for facilitating the event.”

James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business based at Bowland View in Preston. It serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England, six days a week.