More British growers must fund the British Summer Fruits campaign if the soft-fruit industry is to keep on growing, according to its chairman Laurence Olins.
Speaking at yesterday's Fruit Focus event in East Malling, Kent, Olins reflected on 10 years of the body's advertising campaign and said that PR value hit £10.6 million in 2012, despite a total spend of only £350,000. He also pinpointed several produce firms, including Fresca, Stewarts of Tayside, CPM Retail and S&A Produce, that he'd like to get on board to support the campaign.
He explained: 'When you look at California, the crop association there has growers paying a statutory levy on PR, while we are a voluntary group. If that was also the case in the UK the potential for further growth and increased advertising for the soft-fruit industry is enormous. A lot of growers benefit from our campaign but are not necessarily funding it; we have to aim on representing 100 per cent of the industry.'
British Summer Fruits currently represents 85 per cent of all berries sold to supermarkets, and Olins says that £250,000 of its income, of around £300,000, is spent on promotion.
'We are unique as we are promoting 12 months a year, with the Seasonal Berries campaign, and I think our success is reflected by the results as back when we started in 2002 the industry was growing around 70,000 berries. I would expect that to hit 140,000 tonnes this year,' added Olins.
Responding to a question on why the association isn't more closely aligned with the EU, Olins said that it would be restrictive and not allow its campaigns to be as creative. The Poupart chairman also praised the growth of blueberries at the event, which have overtaken raspberries as the number-two biggest soft-fruit seller behind strawberries, and also confirmed plans to reinvest in blackberries.
He concluded: 'Blackberry sales have suffered as their lack of a snacking berry makes them seem inconvenient to consumers. I can confirm that we are all working hard to develop a variety to fill this gap.'
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