Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Anniversary marked by a berry double
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 more than 50 like-minded growers globally to allow year-round supply.
Chairman Mr Porter warns the berry industry is 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,” he said.
“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’.
“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.”
He 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 continued: “Our specialist breeding 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 berries are now grown across the world.”
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.”