SPAR North of England has launched British-grown Good Natured Berries across its store estate as it looks to capitalise on summer soft fruit demand around Wimbledon.

James Hall & Co, which operates company-owned G&E Murgatroyd SPAR stores and supplies independent SPAR retailers across the North of England, began ranging the berries last month in what it said was a convenience sector first.

The range includes Good Natured Berries’ AVA Magnum strawberries and AVA Monet raspberries, both of which have received International Taste awards.

Blueberries are also included in the SPAR North of England range, while blackberries will be added later in the season.

To support the launch, SPAR Sedbergh hosted a sampling event ahead of Wimbledon fortnight, giving shoppers the chance to try the first British berries of the season.

The event formed part of a wider summer sports push, with Angus Soft Fruits also supporting James Hall & Co’s Win With Every Goal campaign through Good Natured Berries products.

James Hall & Co head of category buying for fresh Wilf Whittle said the sampling event had helped bring the range to life in store.

“The SPAR Sedbergh sampling event was the ideal moment for activation just as we enter the British berry season and customers were absolutely blown away by the quality and value that the Good Natured Berries range delivers,” he said.

“There was fantastic connection between the store team and shoppers, and we even had a customer travel 20 miles for the occasion which is remarkable.

“Hundreds of pounds worth of soft fruit was sold during the morning which is an outstanding achievement for a midweek day. It is the proof in the summer pudding as to just how well customers enjoyed the fruit samples.”

Good Natured Berries head of marketing Jill Witheyman said the event had shown the strength of the partnership with SPAR North of England.

“We had wonderful warm weather, the right location, and great products for our sampling session in Sedbergh and I think it is fair to say we are now ready for the nation’s favourite tennis tournament,” she said.

“It was pure joy to deliver the tasting event and our passion for the fruit we supply was matched by the enthusiasm customers had for the berries.”

James Hall & Co is a fifth-generation family business based at Bowland View in Preston, supplying independent and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week.

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