BRITAIN is bingeing on a berry bonanza.

Latest figures show we’ve broken the £1 billion sales barrier for the first time.

Healthy eating, smoothie fever and more availability have all helped fuel an astonishing fruity feast.

And industry experts say the recent good weather will only have boosted sales.

A fifth of the total fruit consumption in the UK is now berries, the largest fresh fruit category and more than apples and bananas.

In the past four years, sales have rocketed by some 20%.

“Berries used to be a luxury item, but now they are a delicious staple, consumed as part of a healthy diet for many people,” said Laurence Olins, chairman of British Summer Fruits.

“The sales figures reveal a robust expanding soft fruit market that is meeting growing consumer demand.”

STRAWBERRY SENSATION

When it comes to berries, consumers really are clutching at straws.
It’s estimated that we’ll tuck into £564 million worth of strawberries, a hefty 73,000 tons, this year. That’s 11% more than 2015 and, at 51%, will be more than half of all the berries we tuck into.
Part of the reason is the massively expanded season. In the past they were only really in season in the UK for around six weeks, but new varieties and the use of polytunnels mean they are now available for nine months of the year. They’re packed with vitamins
and just seven of them provide an adult’s recommended vitamin C intake. Scientists even say they could help prevent cancer.

BLUEBERRY BOOM

Although blueberries are found worldwide, we eat ones with North American origins.
Sales in the UK rocketed from just
£56 million in the mid-2000s to some
£240 million a decade later.
And the number of households eating them quadrupled to more than 11 million.
The boom is so great that producers from the other side of the world, most notably Peru, have been gearing up to keep the season going right up to Christmas.
Part of the reason for the increase is blueberries being hailed as a superfood lowering heart attack and cancer risks.

RASPBERRY RAVE

Scotland has long been hailed for its lip-smacking raspberries. But times have moved on from the days of the 1950s when they were transported to London’s Covent Garden market on the Raspberry Special steam train. New growing methods mean they’re available widely from June to October.
Sweeter varieties are increasingly appealing to the British palate, leading to a year-on-year sales increase of over 20%. There may even be a sexy side to the sales surge with some studies suggesting a fertility boost. And a batch of new American studies indicate how they may help ward off everything from heart disease and diabetes to Alzheimer’s.

BRAMBLE BONANZA

We called them brambles (when, as children, we picked them from hedgerows) but the rest of the world know them as blackberries. Two very different types, a European and a North American variety, now combine to ensure we can enjoy British-grown examples from June through into November.
Good recent harvests resulted in earlier appearances on the shelves and the UK market has increased by 70% as shoppers bought them to snack on rather than put into pies and crumbles.
M&S were one retailer who saw sales rocket when they introduced varieties like Victoria and Incentive, which are double the normal size. Millions have been spent on developing new types with Markies working with growers for three years to come up with super-sweet ones.

A FEW years ago, few of us had even heard of them. Now, we just can’t get enough of our smoothies.

The booming berry sales are partly driven by the growth in smoothie sales.

That’s despite the fact some shop-bought varieties have been slammed for being sugar-laden and recently-published research suggested urgent action is needed to reduce the amount of
sugar our kids are consuming through smoothies.

Often they are given to children by well-meaning parents who think they’re giving their kids a healthy choice.

What’s more, there’s evidence that drinking smoothies packed with fruit doesn’t fill you up the way eating the actual fruit does.

But they taste so good and there’s no denying they can be a good way of getting some vitamins into fussy kids.

If you’re a bit of a smoothie operator, try making your own so you can pile in fruit – don’t forget some veg, too! – and forget about adding any extra sugar. You simply don’t need it.

You won’t be alone. John Lewis claims to sell a Nutribullet, perfect for smoothie-making, every four minutes.

The rise of the superberries

There’s a reason strawberries account for more than half of berries sold – they’re packed with nutrients and are delicious.

In recent years though, a whole host of superberries have become widely available. But what are the brilliant berries – and which are better off left in the punnet?

1 Goji berries

Supermodels love them, with Victoria’s Secret model and nutritionist Miranda Kerr listing them as her sweet fix of choice.

Naturally rich in a yellow antioxidant which has been linked to protecting eyesight. However, recent research found they were no more nutrient-packed than strawberries, which are cheaper and tastier.

2 Acai berries

All it took was for Victoria Beckham to tweet that she was obsessed by acai berries for hopeful dieters everywhere to start buying into the internet chat that these dark, grape-like berries were packed with nutrients and had “fat-burning” qualities.

They are rich in amino acids, vitamins A, B, C and E and minerals including potassium and calcium. As for those fat-burning claims? Some dieticians believe it is simply great marketing.

3 Aronia berries

Known as chokeberries in America – because they make your mouth pucker if you eat them raw – they contain more antioxidants than acai, goji and blueberries.

They can be too sharp to eat raw, but are can be added into soups, sauces, jams and even wine. There are growers in Scotland.

4 Mulberries

Rich in essential fatty acids and antioxidants, plus vitamins and minerals. Benefits of eating regularly include maintaining a healthy circulation, increasing vitality and energy as well as fighting signs of ageing.