![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.freshplaza.com\/remote\/https\/agfstorage.blob.core.windows.net\/misc\/FP_com\/2026\/05\/06\/ASF2.jpg?preset=ContentFullSmall\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n“Our AVA breeding programme continues to perform strongly. The focus across all AVA strawberry varieties is on delivering exceptional flavour, appearance, shelf life, yield and sustainability. The programme includes varieties such as AVA\u2122 Dalicia and AVA Catalina for Mediterranean production, alongside our UK breeding pipeline.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Demand for strawberries in the UK has remained strong. Berry household penetration increased to 62.3%, value sales were up 11.9% year on year, and volumes were up 6.0%, driven by shoppers purchasing berries more frequently. Strong weather has undoubtedly helped support consumer demand for fresh berries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raspberries “The season has progressed broadly in line with expectations. The transition between early and later crops has been smooth, delivering a stable crop profile and reliable supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Fruit quality has been excellent this season. AVA Monet is producing large berries averaging around 9g with a Brix level of 12, while AVA Dali is averaging around 8g with a Brix level of 12. Overall berry size, flavour and sweetness have been particularly strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “AVA Monet has exceeded expectations, producing large, sweet berries with excellent shelf life of around nine days from harvest. It has become highly sought after by growers due to its yield and picking efficiency, with demand so strong that AVA Monet plants sold out for both the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Alongside this, our new varieties AVA Matisse and AVA Picasso, currently in advanced trials, are performing exceptionally, giving us a very strong future pipeline for premium raspberry production.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blueberries “Fruit quality has been very encouraging this season. The combination of good light levels and warm temperatures has helped deliver berries with excellent colour, flavour and bloom. Berry size has been strong, and growers are reporting good quality fruit across the crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Our UK blueberry programme is centred around great-tasting varieties including Liberty and Last Call, which are selected for their flavour, appearance and eating quality. These varieties help deliver the consistent quality consumers expect from premium blueberries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Demand for blueberries continues to be strong as consumers increasingly look for healthy, convenient snacks. Blueberries remain one of the fastest-growing berry categories, supported by their nutritional credentials and versatility, whether eaten fresh, at breakfast or used in recipes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nominations For more information: Jill Witheyman – Angus Soft Fruit: “AVA Monet is producing large berries averaging around 9g with a Brix level of 12” Angus Soft Fruit is now through the bulk of their British strawberry season, but production remains strong as they continue to supply strawberries through their glasshouse production programme until November. The season initially started […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":266085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-267737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-non-categorise"],"acf":[],"featured_image_url":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/befve.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/articles-Christian-Befve-150x150.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/befve.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/articles-Christian-Befve-300x60.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/befve.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/articles-Christian-Befve-768x154.jpg","large":"https:\/\/befve.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/articles-Christian-Befve-1024x205.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/befve.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/articles-Christian-Befve-1536x307.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/befve.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/articles-Christian-Befve-2048x410.jpg"},"post_author":"Christian","assigned_categories":"Non cat\u00e9goris\u00e9","yoast_head":"\n
<\/strong>The Scottish raspberry harvest began in early June, and the crop moved into peak production during July. Early production has now peaked, with later-planted crops helping to maintain continuity of supply through the remainder of the season.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.freshplaza.com\/remote\/https\/agfstorage.blob.core.windows.net\/misc\/FP_com\/2026\/06\/30\/ASF_Monet.jpg?preset=ContentFullSmall\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>The Scottish blueberry season got underway in July and is now in full swing. As one of the later berry crops, blueberries have benefited from the warm summer weather, with growers now harvesting good volumes of quality fruit. The Scottish season will continue through the autumn, providing consumers with locally grown blueberries for several months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Good Natured Berries, the consumer berry brand from Angus Soft Fruits, has been shortlisted in two of the food and fresh produce industry’s most respected awards programmes. The brand has been named a finalist in the Best Marketing Campaign category at the FPC Fresh Awards 2026 and the Food & Drink Campaign of the Year category at the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards 2026, recognising the remarkable growth and evolution of the brand over the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jill Witheyman
Angus Soft Fruit<\/strong>
jill.witheyman@goodnaturedberries.com<\/a>
www.goodnaturedberries.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"