Scottish Raspberry Season Starts Strong As AVA Production Expands
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Favourable growing conditions have kick started a highly positive raspberry season for leading Scottish grower Angus Soft Fruits which plans to expand its AVA production significantly across the UK and worldwide to meet demand.
As the season moves into peak raspberry production, the Scottish company is reporting strong plant growth and solid fruit development as a result of warm temperatures and good light levels.
“Quality has been particularly encouraging, with excellent berry size, flavour and sweetness reported across the crop,” explained Jill Witheyman, Head of Marketing at Angus Soft Fruits.
Raspberry harvesting began in early June and broadly-speaking the season is developing as anticipated.
“Early raspberry production has now peaked, with later-planted crops coming into production and helping to deliver a smooth transition through the season,” assured Witheyman.
Both crop performance and quality are proving to be “very encouraging”, according to Angus Soft Fruits.
“Overall, the crop profile has been stable, providing confidence in supply for retailers and consumers alike,” noted Witheyman.
AVA Varieties Are “Outstanding”
Variety-wise, Angus Soft Fruit is reporting strong performance for its increasingly popular AVA Monet and AVA Dali premium raspberries.
Launched in 2024, these now established commercial varieties were bred to satisfy the specific needs of growers, retailers, and consumers.
According to Witheyman, both varieties offer higher yields, impressive shelf-life, and exceptional flavour, among other attributes.
“Our flagship variety AVA™ Monet is producing large berries averaging around 9g with a Brix level of 12, delivering the sweet, juicy flavour profile it has become known for,” she revealed.
“AVA Dali is also performing strongly, with berries averaging around 8g and a Brix level of 12, offering a more traditional raspberry flavour combined with an intense aroma. Both varieties are delivering outstanding appearance, flavour and shelf life,” Witheyman added.
AVA Production Expands Internationally
With grower demand rising for both AVA varieties, Angus Soft Fruits said it plans to expand production considerably and thereby extend availability beyond the Scottish season.
“We are actively expanding production with existing and new growers across the UK and international growing regions to meet increasing demand,” revealed Witheyman.
“The future growth is significant,” she added. “We believe these varieties are helping to write an exciting new chapter for Scottish raspberries.
“AVA Monet and AVA Dali have exceeded our expectations, delivering outstanding flavour for consumers while providing growers with the yields, efficiency and resilience needed to secure the future of raspberry production."
Already, expansion plans are underway across Scotland, England, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, and Poland.
Additional advanced selections from the AVA breeding programme are progressing through grower trials and are expected to support a year-round AVA raspberry offering in future years, according to Witheyman.
Such is the level of interest among growers, AVA Monet plants have sold out for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
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