What do shoppers want from the fresh produce aisles these days? That’s exactly what we set out to discover with our exclusive consumer survey, which you can read all about on pages 16-19.

Shoppers are not easy to please - that much is clear - and the recession hasn’t diminished their desire for a wider range of produce, sold more often on deal and preferably grown from a location close to home.

They want more in-store information on seasonality and to better understand the relationship between supermarket and supplier.

But they are also prepared to pay a bit extra for something with a point of difference, and it is tapping into that trend that is behind The Greenery’s strategy to develop its premium ranges of fruit and veg (p4).

Club varieties are commonplace in apples, but the Dutch company sees the possibility of expanding that right across a range of fruit and veg, where examples like Tenderstem broccoli are the exception rather than the norm.

Premiumising fresh produce is a logical route for suppliers who want to earn a better margin, and if consumers can be educated to understand different varieties in the same way as they have in apples and a few other fruits then there could be a whole world of opportunity opening up for the best growers.

What consumers say and then actually do in store is not always the same thing, of course, but the success of lines such as Pink Lady and Tenderstem are testament that branding is still a huge growth area for fresh produce.