Irish retail chain Dunnes has turned ‘Good Natured’ in its bid to stock pesticide-free strawberries and raspberries.
The supermarket has chosen to stock ‘Good Natured Fruit’, organic soft fruit produced by Scottish growers group Angus Soft Fruits (ASF).
The group co-ordinates the growing, selling and product development of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries grown in Scotland.
This is the brand’s first move across the water to Ireland, following its introduction to Sainsbury's and Tesco in the UK.
A spokesman for Dunnes Stores said: “We are very impressed with ASF’s product quality and technical capability.”
“Shopper want affordable, flavoursome fruit and are increasingly conscious about the use of artificial pesticides. The proposition of soft fruit that is free of these is particularly relevant to our customers.”
John Gray, commercial manager for ASF, added: “It is not enough for fruit to simply be free of pesticides - it needs to taste great too - and as soft fruit is so tricky to grow in the first place, this is no small challenge.
“The technical team have focused on fruit varieties that deliver a superb taste, which gives us a positive point of difference against organic produce that often involves the growing of more ‘hardy’ varieties at the expense of taste.”
