Berry specialist Angus Soft Fruits is celebrating 30 years of business success this year.
And one exciting development in 2024 is the launch of two new premium raspberry varieties from the in-house breeding programme.
Angus Soft Fruits was established in 1994 by three passionate growers – Lochy Porter, his father Willie and cousin James Gray.
Their ambition was to sell their fruit directly to retailers and continually improve the product.
The Arbroath-based business has expanded through working with soft-fruit producer organisation Angus Growers and through collaboration with over 50 like-minded growers globally to allow year-round supply.
Seasons change
Chairman Lochy explained how things have changed over the years: “The season used to last six weeks in the summer, and now we grow berries from late March to December.
“We have always focused on innovation. In the late 1990s, we introduced polytunnels to protect crops and then, in the early 2000s, table tops which are easier to pick than on the ground.
“We supply to several UK supermarkets, food-service and wholesale outlets. We also supply fruit to European retailers and export fruit to retailers in the Middle East and Asia.”
Lochy warns the berry industry is currently going through a challenging period.
“There are many contributing factors such as Brexit, Covid, inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, as well as fuel costs and labour costs both increasing.”
So what are the chairman’s expectations for Angus Soft Fruits for 2024?
“We are thrilled to be launching two new premium raspberry varieties from our in-house breeding programme. They are named AVA Monet and AVA Dali, as they are ‘works of art’,” Lochy added.
“We concentrate on raising the bar in terms of quality and the innovative development of new varieties and improving our efficiencies.
“We have a talented team of berry specialists – many have been with us for more than 10 years and some for over 20 years. We are a dedicated, passionate group of berry specialists.”
Specialist skills serve the future
Lochy said the Angus Soft Fruits breeding programme is focused on the development of new and improved varieties of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, tailored for diverse international markets.
He went on: “Our specialist reeding team uses a combination of traditional and advanced techniques to improve the flavour, appearance, shelf life, disease resistance and yield of our berries.
“Our journey began in 2003 with the groundbreaking release of our first AVA strawberry – the first UK-grown premium strawberry variety.
“Since this landmark achievement, we have continued to produce outstanding AVA varieties.
“These award-winning AVA berries are grown across the world to satisfy the demand of retailers in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
“All varieties bred by the Angus Soft Fruits breeding programme are prefixed with our AVA trademark. This helps differentiate our premium selection of berries from other varieties.”
The chairman said the mission of Angus Soft Fruits is to deliver great-tasting berries that will delight customers each and every day.
“We shall continue to innovate and challenge the status quo.
“We work efficiently, collaboratively and excel in every area of our business.
“We approach innovative technologies with curiosity and, above all, we act with integrity.
“We strive to keep improving our product and our services.
“Most of all, we want to continue to grow highly-nutritional, delicious Scottish berries.”
