Why Southern Africa’s focus on ‘premium’ makes it a quality partner in blueberry market
This Q&A features highlights from an interview done with Dane Castle, Blueberry Technical Sales Manager Southern Africa at Planasa, who discusses the state of the Southern Africa blueberry season. For the full interview and charts, go to FreshFruitPortal.com. Could you share insights into the expected volume and quality of the 2024 Southern African Blueberry season? Southern […]
How UK retailers are responding to rising demand for online supermarket shopping
The numbers of consumers turning to online shopping during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was not surprising given lockdowns throughout the UK. However, once the nation fully opened up, it would have been natural for online orders to ebb. That hasn’t happened. Asda reported this week that its online grocery sales last year […]
Colombia cements its status as one of top suppliers of avocados to UK
During the first quarter of 2024, the Hass Avocado Producers and Exporters Corporation of Colombia (CorpoHass) reported significant growth in the industry’s contribution to the nation’s economy. The avocado sector’s input to Colombia’s Gross Domestic Product surged by 150%, representing 1.5% of the national GDP, according to CorpoHass data. Avobook highlights the impact of this […]
Kronen receives patent for pitting and peeling technology on avocados
Germany-based Kronen delivered its first robotic solution for avocado processing in April 2024 and it didn’t take long for the patent on their technology to follow. Showcased for the first time at Fruit Logistica, Kronen’s process enables the sensitive fruit to be processed gently in an automated procedure through its Robot Avocado Line. The company […]
Asda: All UK supermarket shoppers are seeing income gains, but one group is still struggling
Consumers have more spending power at grocery stores than last year, thanks to rising income levels decelerating inflation. In fact, Asda’s most recent Income Tracker showed that average families are earning £31.33 per week more than they did a year ago. Their take-home pay, a more than 15% boost year over year, is the best […]
Crownless pineapples make appearance this summer in some Aldi supermarkets
In October of 2023, Sainsbury’s unveiled crownless pineapples in its stores. Officials touted the move as a way to “reduce our impact on the planet wherever we can.” Less than a year later, discount retailer Aldi is doing its part by trialling pineapples without their leaves in select supermarkets – in the Midlands, Yorkshire and […]
Aldi trades in plastic for paper band in trial to make banana packaging more sustainable
With just one small change to one product in its produce section, Aldi UK could eliminate 234 tonnes of plastic. So the discount retailer, like so many other supermarket chains across the UK focused squarely on sustainability, will trial the removal of plastic packaging on certain lines of bananas in select stores. They include […]
Zespri makes ‘Taste the Obsession’ pitch to UK shoppers with SunGold kiwi 4-pack at Tesco
Susan Barrow Dodd, the Market Manager in the UK for Zespri, was direct in her assessment of the UK consumers’ embrace of kiwis. “Although we are making good progress in kiwifruit consumption in the UK, we are still a long way behind the penetration that we experience across the rest of Europe,” she said. “Many […]
