Supermarket buyers are becoming increasingly involved in the initial selecthttp://cmstest.william-reed.com/CMS/storyEdit.aspx?storyCode=58131#ion of highly coloured niche varieties to support Cox and Gala. Many are highly coloured. Getting retail support in the early stages has become critical for growers developing new varieties for sale.
At the National Fruit Show, Simon Thirkell, Sainsbury’s quality development manager, confirmed that tastings would be taking place of several little known apples reared by nurserymen Frank P Matthews, which mainly sells fruit trees to garden centres. They include a red sport called Jonaprince, Saturn, Sunrise, found in Canada, English bred Scrumptious, a cross between Golden Delicious and Discovery, and Red Devil (Discovery and Kent), in existence for 20 years.
Another route is to reactivate consumer interest in traditional varieties which are no longer commercial. This month Waitrose is selling in 64 of its branches more than 200 varieties under its Vintage label. They are grown at the Brogdale Horticultural Trust. Limited in number, these are in 700g punnets priced at £1.69. The packs will include a questionnaire with a chance to win one of six luxury weekends in the UK. When the results are analysed, buyers will pick three varieties to go into small scale planting.
The initiative is part of Waitrose’s wider English Apple Festival, including tastings being held in all 136 branches until November 18. The development of trade marked varieties has also led to supermarkets seeing an opportunity to create exclusivity although when fruit originates from abroad, such as French Tentation, breeders have been approached to anglicise these names to make them more appealing.
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