Berry marketer Driscoll's of Europe, Middle East and Africa has revealed that its new strawberry varieties have scored 'significantly better' than an unnamed 'public variety' in recent consumer panel research.
The group has launched several new varieties this summer that have been tested specifically for the northern European market, with initial feedback from growers described as 'promising'.
According to Driscoll's, panel testing carried out by research agency The Opinion Group found that the group's summer varieties scored well across all aspects including taste, freshness and colour when compared with a control variety.
Over 75 per cent of the panel rated the new varieties as good or very good for their first overall impression before consumption, which Driscoll's said was the most important indicator for initial buying intentions.
For the recently launched Driscoll's Diamond variety, 93 per cent of the panel gave the strawberry the highest rating possible, while most new varieties were rated as either good or very good on taste, freshness and colour.
Growers have also received the new strawberries well, with Eric Jansen, a grower based in Borgloon in Belgium, expressing his delight at their quality and flavour.
'The new junebearers taste absolutely delightful, and more importantly, this great flavour is consistent as well,' he said. 'There are fewer deformations, and overall, their size is quite large, they are intensely red coloured and have a firm texture, if you compare them with existing public varieties.
'For me, as a grower, it is very convenient that one of the new varieties is a bit later in harvesting,' he added. 'This is beneficial for the picking crew as the capacity is rather equally spread throughout the season which contributes to their working comfort.'
