This week’s English apple season relaunch must be good news for the industry, and in particular those growers who have switched to some of the newer and increasingly popular varieties now making headway on the retail shelves as volumes increase. Beyond this, it also gives a boost to the winter and early spring market.

Considering the concept in wider terms, it also establishes the potential for a far wider initiative in terms of all fruit promotion and marketing, which if the idea catches on, could become a marketing man’s dream.

First, it could lift the general and often meaningless “new season” messages adopted for many lines of fruit. The problem is that the stickers are often seen for weeks on end, well past the time when the crop has peaked. This can hardly lead to a better level of understanding among consumers. Over the last year, I have often been asked by friends and neighbours - who admit to having only a hazy idea of the seasons themselves - “When is the best time to buy if I want to eat a product at the peak of its taste?”

One can at least add that with so many seasons now competitively interlocked, there are few gaps in supply and the trade has thankfully moved away from the time when it was a rush to see who would be the first to get, for example, Mediterranean grapefruit on the market in October. This annual race gave rise to the old market opinion that the fruit was so sour it could remove teeth enamel. The English apple industry feared the same when it constantly warned growers not to send green, immature Cox to the market.

I would take issue that the same story can often still be told when it comes to arrivals of stonefruit or melons that have also been harvested too early. Returns may be temporarily enhanced, but it can take at least a fortnight to tempt customers back to continue purchasing because of their initial dissatisfaction. Eating fruit is primarily for enjoyment and highlighting that is still the best way to increase consumption, with health messages secondary.

There is surely an opportunity to take the concept further by broadly giving a stronger identity and awareness of early, mid-season and late varieties across the board. The Navel family, present before Valencia Late takes over, offers such an opportunity. And on avocados, improved and expanded labelling could flag up the difference between the various smooth-skinned avocado varieties and Hass.

There must be many other examples - perhaps the idea could be extended to give vegetables and roots a boost. Menu descriptions might even ultimately take a step forward, at a time when everyone seems to want more and more information.

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