Biggest ever survey into British grape-buying preferences underway

WEBWIRE – Monday, February 3, 2025

The biggest ever survey into Brits grape-buying preferences is underway in order to establish exactly what it is that consumers want.

The trial, called Fruitology, is underway in Tesco stores across the UK because there are now hundreds of table grape flavour and texture profiles thanks to advances in natural varietal developments.

The ground-breaking trials to establish exactly what British consumers want are being conducted exclusively by Tesco, under the Jaffa brand, in conjunction with Peterborough-based global fruit importers AMT FRESH, parent company AMFRESH Group, and leading global fruit developers, BLOOMFRESH.*

In order to establish shoppers grape preferences Tesco is selling the fruit in clearly labelled packaging by one of three main criteria tropical flavour, candy flavour and crunchiness.

Early feedback from the trials, which are taking place in 220 large format Tesco stores across the UK, has revealed that UK shoppers favour their grapes primarily by crunchy texture, next by tropical flavour and lastly, by candy flavour.

Tesco Fruit Technical Manager James Cackett explains: If you ask anyone how many grape varieties there are, most people are likely to tell you three red, green and black.

And that was pretty much the case until the turn of the century when fruit breeders began looking at how to naturally improve flavour, crunchiness and sweetness, which is a wholly natural process, to deliver better quality grapes all round.

Now with the advance in breeding technology we have the possibility to draw from many hundreds of new grape varieties which will allow us to deliver exactly what our customers want, and thats the reason why we have set up these trials.

The Fruitology trials allow us to better gauge and understand the attributes our shoppers prefer.

AMT Fresh, which also supplies Tesco with other fruit and veg, was recently in the news for its work in introducing richer tasting mandarin fruit to the UK.

Rachel Botha, Head of Commercial at AMT Fresh, explained the background to the programme.

She said: This project, which we are implementing with Tesco through the Jaffa brand, is the most far-reaching research ever undertaken in the UK to understand British consumers table grape eating preferences, redefining the way they are segmented and marketed.

We are working with the worlds foremost fruit breeding companies to supply the grapes that British shoppers want to consistently see on supermarket shelves. Thanks to advances in technology we now have the ability to do just that.

The Fruitology project reflects the strengths of our breeding programmes, the commitment of growers eager to explore new possibilities, and Tescos openness to pioneering shopper-focussed initiatives.

ENDS

Notes:

*BLOOM FRESH and AMFRESH Integration: BLOOM FRESH, as part of the AMFRESH Group, leads in varietal innovation, and its expertise underpins the Fruitology platform.

*Implementation Through Jaffa and AMT FRESH: The Fruitology project is being implemented through the Jaffa brand, which is managed by AMT FRESH.

A brief history of table grape popularity in Britain

Grapes were brought to Britain by the Romans 2000 years agoTable grapes were considered an expensive, exotic delicacy in the UK until the 1960s when improvements in transportation and storage meant that produce from warmer European countries suddenly gradually became a more common sight in supermarkets.1970s/80s – Emergence of the cheese, grapes and crackers snacking trendEarly 2000s Possibly thebiggest everrevolution in table grapes with the arrival of seedless grapes2011 Arrival of flavoured grapes in commercial quantities in the UK which helped widen their appeal to children

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