The UK’s first-ever soft-fruit promotion day has been launched by berry supplier BerryWorld to raise awareness of blueberries and blueberry recipes.
National Blueberry Day will take place on 13 August and will engage with consumers through a dedicated website and Twitter account using the hashtag #NBD2015.
It aims to celebrate 20 years of a growing UK blueberry market and continue to raise awareness of the berry’s health benefits. Over the last 10 years, the UK blueberry retail market has grown from £50m to over £237m (Kantar Worldpanel), while penetration has grown from 15 per cent to 42 per cent.
“BerryWorld is proud to have been so heavily involved in growing the blueberry market in the UK over the last 20 years. 42 per cent penetration is a strong sign of the fruit’s popularity, but there is still headroom for growth,” said BerryWorld managing director, Adam Olins.
The news comes alongside the re-launch of nutritionist and food writer Margarete Dressler’s book “Blueberries: nutritious and medicinal fruit”, first launched in 2008 alongside the Global Berry Congress.
The book showcases the botanical and chemical makeup of blueberries, its history in local cuisine, crafts and herbal medicine, and its current cultivation worldwide. It is aimed at nutritionists, health-care workers, soft-fruit growers and “anyone keen to improve their health through diet”.
