New miniature strawberry variety Baby Ava is gaining increasing market exposure following a successful start in Tesco stores over the last 10 days.

The baby berries were launched to coincide with the end of the school holidays and Tesco are now trebling the amount of stores carrying the fruits following of strong demand.

They will also be introduced into Sainsbury’s this week.

The baby strawberries come in single 160g child-friendly punnets that fit easily into lunchboxes, and provide children with two of their 5 A DAY portions.

They are the same variety as the standard-sized premium Ava strawberry launched last year.

John Gray, commercial manager for exclusive growers Angus Soft Fruits said: “Demand has been good on the back of a trial into a small number of stores, which shows that Ava babies are more than a gimmick.”

The recent chilly spell has meant less than perfect conditions for strawberry growers. Low temperatures and rain are having an adverse affect on quality and fruit size is small. The weather has also seen demand drop off. “It’s a miserable back end to the season,” Gray said