Sainsbury’s has made its clearest commitment to date to English top-fruit by announcing that the only imported varieties that the supermarket will sell in the autumn will be those that cannot be grown in the UK. By the beginning of October half of its apples in stores nationwide will be grown in England.
Cox arrived in store two weeks earlier than usual today and the retailer aims to hold on to its no. 1 spot as the champion of UK top-fruit with a lot more in-store sampling this season. English Conference should be in store by the middle of the month and Royal Gala by late September, apple buyer Neil Gibson said.
Meanwhile, the official media launch of the English apple season has been brought forward a week by promotional body English Apples & Pears to September 18. This reflects the early start to the season and should help ensure that media do not start their coverage before the campaign group gets its official message out.
“That message is that English apples and pears are back in the shops, they have a fantastic taste and that all the major varieties can be identified by the Union Jack,” said EAP chief executive Adrian Barlow. “We will be doing a lot of work with television, radio and the press on September 18-19 driving home the message that the English season has started."
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