Supplier spotlight: New Forest Fruit Company

Posted on by Adam Page

It’s June! And the time is “ripe” for soft fruits. In our latest supplier spotlight, we spoke to East Boldre’s New Forest Fruit about sustainability pledges, technology-firsts to introduce new ways of farming using traditional methods, and even robot pickers.

Nestled in the heart of the beautiful New Forest National Park, there is a special kind of fruit farm, aptly called New Forest Fruit. The farm is situated over three sites which span eighty hectares.

CEO Sandy Booth

New Forest Fruit is now in its thirteenth year of trading

The main crop is strawberries, which are sold to leading supermarkets, local farm shops, restaurants and greengrocers. A small amount of raspberries and blueberries are also grown, but these are only sold locally. The company is led by owner Sandy Booth who has been involved with NFF since 2008, fully taking over as CEO in 2018. Sandy’s team consists of several close-knit departments that cover every aspect of the business and give the company the feel of being family-run.

Like many businesses, the New Forest Fruit farm is embracing technology

It became the first company in the UK to be involved in trials of traceability technology – a process that allows businesses to track food at every single stage of the production process. They also use robots used to apply a UV treatment for mildew at night. Not only is technology being used to improve and enhance the soft fruit but it’s also helped address other areas of the business too.

New Forest Fruit is trialling robot pickers!

It means the fruit can be picked at the perfect time, and the business isn’t hindered by labour shortages – something else that affects so many fruit farms like theirs. Being a home-grown British fruit farm, the team at New Forest Fruit takes its eco-friendly pledge very seriously. The company recently produced a sustainability report to highlight all the measures implemented to support this.

The environment is at the heart of all the decisions made

Some of these measures include a management system for all the hedgerows on the farm so that wildlife corridors are maintained and can provide shelter. This includes laying 240m of hedgerow this year. There are also bat and bird boxes around the farm. This season there have been 3000 apple trees planted to promote the biosphere in and around the farm. Three on-site reservoirs to ensure it uses its water supply, which limits the amount that’s taken from the rivers. Plus, rain gutters on the strawberry tunnels feed directly back to the reservoir. The farm uses Integrated Farm Management, which is marrying traditional techniques of farming with the latest innovations and enabling a whole farm approach.

Plus a brand new product has been launched this month that uses any second-class fruit which is turned into a delicious ‘pulsed’ dried strawberry snack! Pulsed dried is special as these berries will rehydrate when added to a glass of champagne, sparkling wine or gin & tonic. They also come in compostable packaging.

Photo credit: Monika Grabkowska

These are available to buy in Welcome Brockenhurst and more information is available at newforestfruitsnacks.com

If that wasn’t enough, the farm has also invested in three electric vehicles and two electric forklifts. Some on-site solar panels provide electricity to the Packshed and they recycle and reuse everything they can – all the coir from the strawberry crops is reused for the early-season asparagus.

What is the best thing about working with Welcome Stores?

“Welcome genuinely champions other local businesses and has created little hubs across the forest for people to access local produce. Also, their business values regarding sustainability and the environment align with the values held at NFF. Both businesses want to protect the environment.”

You can find New Forest Fruit’s juicy, perfectly ripe sweet-scented strawberries & also the brand new Pulsed Strawberry snacks on sale at your local Welcome store. You can also learn more about New Forest Fruit on newforestfruit.com or newforestfruitsnacks.com.    

Supplier Spotlight: The Tomato Stall, Isle of Wight

Posted on by Adam Page

British Tomato Fortnight runs from 29th May to 11th June – and what better way to celebrate than by talking to our very own British tomato growers and Welcome stores’ supplier, The Tomato Stall, otherwise known as Isle Of Wight Tomatoes.

Beginning life just over 15 years ago when team tomato headed off to their first farmers market, customers quickly realised that The Tomato Stall had some of the best produce around.

Of course, team tomato, based at Tomato Stall’s HQ in Arreton on the Isle of Wight, will not give away all their trade secrets. But, they say the island is the perfect place for tomato growing because the weather and climate allows for plenty of variety and most flavourful fruits.

In fact, the Isle of Wight is one of the sunniest places to live – and you need plenty of sunshine for the tastiest tomatoes. According to Met Office data, the Isle of Wight sees the most hours of sunshine each year, with 1,923 hours recorded in 2022. Plus, the Island gets an average of 37 hours of sunshine per week – far outstripping the rest of the UK’s 29-hour average.

But, apart from producing some of the best-tasting fruit, what is it that’s so great about the Tomato Stall? Well first, they are all about zero waste – and that’s a massive tick in the box for us!

Welcome Stores is fully committed to its sustainability pledge to reduce our carbon footprint wherever possible. We’re proud that two of our six stores now have zero waste stations, which means our customers can bring along their reusable containers and fill them up with everyday things like cleaners, soaps and even cereal and milk. Plus, all our stores recycle packaging and plastic, and use energy-saving features such as efficient LED lighting and doors.

Using local suppliers is also a key part of that sustainability pledge, as it reduces the need to transport goods far and wide – plus, there’s nothing quite like enjoying products from within a stone’s throw of our front door!

Similarly to Welcome Stores, The Tomato Stall is passionate about its commitment to the environment. All tomato plants are recycled to create rich compost that enriches the organic soil to grow even more yummy tomatoes. The tomato farm also uses rainwater harvesting features so that it stores rain to irrigate crops all year round.

If that wasn’t enough, the Isle of Wight itself is an accredited biosphere reserve – making it an even-more-perfect location for growing fruit. It allows for things like natural predators to balance ecosystems, and control pests without the use of chemicals that can be harmful to humans and the planet.

So if you’re a bit of a tomato fan, you might want to head down to your local Welcome store where you can find everything from the delicious fruit itself to pestos and passatas.

You can also find lots of inspiring tomato recipes on our website, or head to http://www.thetomatostall.co.uk/ to find out more about the Tomato Stall!

Rainbow frozen fruit kebabs

Posted on by Adam Page

Freshen up with these fruity treats — the tangy lemon curd and yogurt dip is a game-changer!

  • Feeds 24Feeds 24
  • Ready in 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 300g pack Co-op melon & mango fingers
  • 1 kiwi fruit, peeled
  • 24 blueberries
  • 12 red or black grapes, halved
  • 200g Co-op Greek style natural yogurt
  • 1 tbsp Co-op lemon curd
  • You‘ll also need 24 cocktail sticks

Method

  1. Cut the melon and mango into even pieces — you’ll need 24 pieces of mango and 24 of both types of melon
  2. Cut the kiwi into 24 similarly sized pieces
  3. Thread one piece of both types of melon, mango and kiwi onto each cocktail stick
  4. Finish with a blueberry and a half-grape
  5. Put the mini fruit kebabs on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and freeze for 2 hours, or until frozen
  6. Put the yogurt in a bowl and swirl through the lemon curd
  7. Serve with the frozen kebabs

Each serving contains

  • Energy 1%105kj 25kcal
  • Fat Med 1%1g
  • Saturates Med 3% 0.6g
  • Sugar Med 4% 3.3g
  • Salt Low 0%0.01g

% of adult’s reference intake | Carbohydrates per serving : 4g

Strawberry cheesecake bites

Posted on by Adam Page

These delicious mouthfuls have all the flavour of the popular dessert, but require a fraction of the effort

  • Feeds 16Feeds 16
  • Ready in 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 16 large Co-op British strawberries, hulled
  • 200g Co-op light soft cheese
  • 2 tbsp Co-op strawberry jam
  • 1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
  • 60g Co-op ginger nut biscuits

Method

  1. Using a small knife, carefully cut away some of the insides of each strawberry, leaving a hollow
  2. Mix together the soft cheese, strawberry jam and lemon zest, if using, until smooth
  3. Using a teaspoon, fill each strawberry with the mixture
  4. Put the ginger nuts into a freezer bag, then bash into fine crumbs with a rolling pin
  5. Tip onto a saucer and dip the end of each strawberry into the biscuit crumbs to coat
  6. Serve immediately

Each serving contains

  • Energy 3% 228kj 54kcal
  • Fat Med 3%2g
  • Saturates Med 6% 1.2g
  • Sugar Med 5% 4.9g
  • Salt Low 2% 0.11g

% of adult’s reference intake | Carbohydrates per serving : 7g