Rapid Changes Ensure Continued Success for the Global Blueberry Industry
A series of significant changes across various regions will set the global blueberry industry up for continued success. Key trends shaping the future of the industry include increasingly advanced genetics and growers’ heightened focus on labour productivity and efficiencies, according to a recent study by RaboResearch. The 2023/24 blueberry season was unique, marking the first […]
Facing a ‘critical juncture’, raspberry growers hoping researchers can remedy UK production
The James Hutton Institute has launched a pioneering five-year initiative to address the economic challenges faced by UK raspberry producers. The Raspberry Economics in Production project has been awarded £1 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation’s Innovate UK program, aimed at enhancing the sustainability of raspberry cultivation in the UK. Growers are grappling with rising […]
Where does bold, mouth-watering flavour come from? It starts with seeds and breeders
For this column, we are going to go off menu a bit because ironically, flavor does not start on the menu. Or in the kitchen. Or at the distributor. Or even in the field. Flavour starts with the development of a seed. Development, growing, testing, tasting. Re-developing, growing, testing, re-tasting. But I am getting ahead […]
Fruit Research Innovation Hub will be one of many highlights at Fruit Focus in July
Growing Kent & Medway, Innovate UK and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) will combine forces for the first time at this year’s Fruit Focus on 12th July. Visitors to the show in East Malling, Kent, will be able to explore cutting-edge research and innovation projects, funded to tackle some of the biggest […]
Consumers put sustainability first, with retailers lagging behind
By Greg Petro, CEO, First Insight Are consumers and retailers on the same page when it comes to sustainable shopping? A recent report indicates that the answer to this question is no. First Insight and the Baker Retailing Center at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania surveyed consumers and senior retail executives to compare […]
Kantar leader: The Channels we shop in have changed significantly
The supermarket and grocery sector in the United Kingdom has seen tremendous activity over the past several years, from the exit of Walmart from its ASDA partnership, to the growth of the deep discounters on the one hand and home delivery of groceries, including produce, on the other. At the same time, consumers have been […]
London Produce Show: Kantar Insights Director Explains How The Channels We Shop Have Changed Significantly
The supermarket and grocery sector in the United Kingdom has seen tremendous activity over the past several years, from the exit of Walmart from its ASDA partnership, to the growth of the deep discounters on the one hand and home delivery of groceries, including produce, on the other. At the same time, consumers have been […]
How do consumers value produce and local vs. long-distance?
A new researcher at the New York Produce Show, Rebecca Wasserman-Olin, shared new research findings about how customers value various appearance characteristics and how a consumer value perception is affected when a strawberry is marketed as ‘local,’ among other key findings. While this work uses strawberries as an example, it provides important lessons for everyone in the fresh produce […]