It is not just enthusiasm for the product, but what consumers perceive as hard facts that have put M&S at the apex of fruit retailing. “We are recognised on the High Street as a destination store for fruit,” he says.
Lunny and his colleagues are working hard alongside growers and suppliers to extend the UK season and come up with top-tasting new varieties, which already do much to fill some of the natural troughs that still appear in the summer production cycle.
Perhaps the best example is the development of the trademarked variety Jubilee exclusively launched two years ago and presented to Her Majesty The Queen.
“Its taste has proved to be simply outstanding,” says Lunny. This is a claim supported by independent consumer research outside M&S’s own panels, carried out by accredited organisations such as the Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association. “As a result customers have been more than prepared to pay the premium it deserves,” Lunny adds.
At last year’s Kent Fruit Show, Jubilee won every class in which it was entered and there is realistic expectation at M&S that it will repeat the performance in 2004.
Perhaps more significantly from a marketing point of view, harvesting of Jubilee starts after the peak of Elsanta - still the major variety sold by most retailers. An everbearer, it comes on stream in mid-July and can potentially continue to fruit until October.
“Another reason why we are so excited about Jubilee is that we feel it is the best eating everbearer available,” Lunny says. “Lots of the new strawberries which we have seen in the past simply don’t sell because they can’t deliver superior eating quality. “Even today, M&S stipulates 60-day Elsanta rather than any of the other everbearers because they don’t come up to our expectations.”
He believes that the development of trademarked varieties grown by specific growers - in effect under contract - will lead to a situation where strawberries will become more widely recognised by their variety names, in much the same way as apples and citrus.
That would represent a seachange for the category; one which would open up a series of all-new marketing avenues. “While some keen gardeners may remember names like Royal Sovereign and Cambridge Favourite, consumers generally just buy strawberries, although we all put the variety name on the punnet,” says Lunny.
Recognition of this opportunity is already evident on M&S soft-fruit counters, where for the first time Jubilee will be available in all branches that place greater emphasis on punnets with stronger labelling. Heat-sealed punnets with clear perforated polythene are easy to handle in-store and make use of one of the aspects of berries that appeals most to consumers, their smell.
“Jubilee acreage is in the hands of seven of our growers who were prepared to commit themselves over a long period,” says Lunny. “In 2002, there was a relatively small amount of fruit available, but last year production had expanded to 25 acres, and this season will be over 100 acres.”
He is convinced the variety is not just a lucky exception and there are more exciting tastes ahead. “The entire industry is more professional, and retailers, growers and breeders are all working far more closely together, so the results will come faster,” he says. “After all, it is in everyone’s interest to sell more fruit while the opportunity exists.”
Long-term success in the breeding process, should also allow retailers to become more selective, something which M&S already prides itself on. It is from this belief in the way forward, that M&S has already grasped the opportunity to develop speciality lines. King strawberries for dipping, snugly packed in 800g punnets and as uniform as chocolates have already been appearing on the shelves.
Thus far, these have been imported from the US, but Lunny is convinced that in the right conditions, similar giant varieties that can crop continuously and consistently could be grown in the UK. “We’re already looking at the possibility with some of our growers,” he reveals.
M&S feels that there are other sectors in the soft-fruit category that are equally as exciting as strawberries. Within a couple of years Lunny expects that the raspberry category will have changed beyond recognition. “There are so many technical developments going on at present it is hard to keep up,” he admits.
As with strawberries, the primary aim is to extend the season for home-grown fruit. “Summer fruiting varieties like Tulameen and Glen Ample have good quality characteristics, but supplying customers between August and October with good autumn-fruiting varieties is still a bit of a struggle,” Lunny says.
The first signs of this problem being solved have already emerged with the arrival of UK-bred Octavia. “It has added another fortnight to the season, and we are looking to extend this even longer,” he says.
Then there is the largely untapped potential for UK blueberries. While volumes to date are small the crop is expanding fast. Lunny says UK blueberries offer the best quality in the world. M&S should know, as it sells 90 per cent of UK production.
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