A short-lived strawberry season could now be a thing of the past thanks to Aldi’s collaboration with a Somerset farm.
The supermarket giant has teamed up with a strawberry grower in the south west to produce the UK’s first winter strawberries at its Somerset farms.
The collaboration between Bradon Soft Fruit Farm and Aldi has led to the production of the country’s first crop of winter strawberries at its Somerset farms.
This means Brits can now enjoy ripe and juicy strawberries that are in season during the whole year.
Year-round strawberry production also means job security for farm workers and reduced food miles and carbon footprint.
UK berry supplier Angus Soft Fruits has also invested in the project based at Bradon Farm in order to meet Britain’s demand for sustainable, premium berries available all year round.
The farms use specialist lighting and renewable energy sources to recreate summer temperatures and growing conditions. Plant waste is distributed to agricultural land and water is recycled.
There are many benefits of this Aldi and Bradon Soft Fruit Farm collaboration.
It is not just the joy of being able to enjoy sweet and juicy strawberries throughout the entire year. The consistent and continuous production of strawberries will also enable Bradon Soft Fruit Farm to offer employees job security by extending contracts from seasonal to permanent.
Another benefit is that by producing food locally, the carbon footprint of the product will be lower in comparison to strawberries that have been imported from afar such as from Egypt or Morocco.
Strawberries are usually in season for a few months in summer. Their popularity peaks during June to coincide with the Wimbledon championships, where 191,930 portions of strawberries were served in 2019.
John Downes, Managing Director at Global Berry said: “We have been supplying strawberries to Aldi since 2016 and are delighted to be able to introduce this exciting new technology with their support.
“The UK strawberry market has been growing consistently in the last few years so it’s great that we can now meet this demand in a sustainable way, while also being able to offer our team year-round employment.”
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK said: “Building long-term relationships with British suppliers has been key to our growth, and we’re proud to support British farms.
“Global Berry has been a trusted supplier for six years and we’re delighted that we have been able to help them develop this innovative technology at their local fruit farms. We’re looking forward to continuing our work with them on even more exciting projects in the future.”
Aldi has recently committed to spending an additional £3.5 billion a year with British suppliers by 2025 to continue making changes like these.
The strawberries are now available from today in select Aldi stores across the country for £2.39.
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