Redbridge AFI and Worldwide Fruit have signed and sealed a marketing agreement to bring their soft fruit businesses together under the name of The Summerfruit Company.

Both companies are already suppliers to various major retailers and this alliance should be well received by customers who continue to look for cost effective solutions to rationalising their supply bases.

AFI is a leader in imported soft fruit all year round with approximately 30 per cent of its business represented by UK-grown fruit. Worldwide Fruit has a stronger UK fruit business and together the companies said they will represent a one-stop soft fruit shop for the retailers.

The deal will deliver greater availability, more emphasis on research and development, a strengthened technical team leading to better tasting quality fruit. This alliance will also benefit a wider grower base who will now have access to the new varieties expected next year from the Redeva trials - the groundbreaking berry breeding programme launched by Redbridge earlier this year.

Denis Punter, Redbridge's chief executive said: 'We are really excited about this joint agreement. AFI already has an excellent reputation in the market place but two heads are always better than one and our partnership with Worldwide Fruit will mean that we can offer the retailers exactly what they want - a one stop shop delivering the best quality, availability and taste consistently all year round.' Alasdair Robertson, Worldwide Fruit's chief executive added: 'We are delighted to be coming together with AFI in this important area of our business. This entity enables us to better serve both our key customers as well as our outstanding grower base, and is an exciting step forward within the industry.

'As a joint entity we look forward to further improving what we deliver to our customers and staying one step ahead of the competition.' For more information, see this week's Journal and look out for updates on freshinfo.com.

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