Glamour cherries

The world's earliest, and costliest, cherries will soon feature on supermarket shelves across the UK, after their Spanish producer signed a deal with Tesco.

Glamour cherries are available six weeks earlier than any other cherries because the fruit is grown through state-of-the art hothouse technology at creator SAT Edoa's Catalonia production base that makes use of the ample hours of Spanish sunshine.

However, the cherries, which have been nicknamed 'Red Gold' and 'the cherry Ferrari' in Spain, do not come cheap, retailing at between €30 (£26) and as much as €139 (£121) per kg depending on size.

The cherries will this year be available exclusively in Tesco stores through a distribution deal with SAT Edoa, with the retailer set to sell chocolate-box sized packs of branded 'Glamour Cherries'.

Although no price is yet available for the packs, Tesco has previously sold the cherries for £4.99 a punnet, while they have also retailed in Harrods for in excess of £200 per kilo.

Glamour cherries Matt HancockThis year's Glamour cherry season began officially on 17 March, with a charity auction for the first kilo of fruit, which fetched €1,040 (£904), held to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the brand.

Winning bidder, Matt Hancock of Sheerness-based fruit importer Norton Folgate, will donate the proceeds of the auction to CLIC Sargent, a British charity that provides care for children and young people with cancer.

The Glamour Cherries season runs until 29 April, during which time branded, 150g packs will be available in Tesco stores.