Growers having a ‘vintage year’ with ideal growing conditions ensuring standout flavour and quality, according to British Berry Growers
British raspberries are up to 50 per cent sweeter this season, according to growers, after a heatwave in May that followed cool spring temperatures.
This year’s crop is testing at sugar levels of 11 to 12 Brix, compared with average readings of around eight, the biggest jump growers have seen in years.
According to industry body British Berry Growers, its raspberry-growing members are attributing the standout quality of this season’s crop to ideal growing conditions.
“This year, with careful management, our growers have a wonderful crop developing,” said British Berry Growers chair Nick Marston.
“Strawberries may have grabbed the headlines earlier in the season [with record sales of British strawberries over the May Bank Holiday weekend] but now it’s raspberries’ turn. The same favourable growing conditions have produced an exceptional crop, with fantastic sweetness, flavour and quality.”
According to the trade body, cold and prolonged spring ensured that the berries were not unnecessarily stressed by heat, allowing them to flourish and develop healthy leaf canopies and root systems.
When the warmer weather finally arrived, it came at the ideal time, ripening the fruit slowly and evenly, turning the berries a deep red, and giving them a sweeter flavour profile.
Lochy Porter, co-founder at Angus Soft Fruits, said this year’s crop is “something very special”, noting that he’s been growing raspberries for 35 years and has “rarely seen Brix readings like this”.
“The cool spring set the plants up perfectly, then the sunshine came at exactly the right time,” he said. “You can taste it straight off the raspberry cane.”
George Beedell, head of business development at WB Chambers in Kent, added: “We’ve had warm days and mild nights, and that’s exactly what a raspberry wants. They’ve had time to develop more too, so they’re bigger than usual as well as sweeter. They’re eating beautifully right now; I’d call it a vintage year.”
Raspberry sales continue to rise strongly, up 13.1 per cent in value in the year to 17 May 2026, according to Worldpanel by Numerator.
British Berry Growers said the growth is partly down to the trend for ‘fibremaxxing’ – people looking to boost their daily fibre intake – since raspberries are considered one of the highest wholefood sources of dietary fibre.
