With Allied Growers based on site, collaboration is close day to day. It supports faster decision-making, clearer communication and a joined-up approach from intake planning through to customer requirements.
Industry commentary has also been positive around the UK crop and the importance of a resilient home-grown top fruit supply chain (British Apples & Pears and Fresh Produce Journal have both covered the season’s outlook and the focus on quality and continuity.)
What we’re seeing this season
Good harvest and strong arrivals. Our grower base has delivered a good harvest, with intake ahead of estimates in places. Arrivals for grading and packing have been of excellent quality, which sets up the season well.
Key varieties in motion. The mainline British apple varieties are in full swing, including Gala and Braeburn. Apples are moving through grading and packing for supermarket supply, and we are handling good volumes of pears through controlled ripening for the ready-to-eat lines.
How we protect eating quality and availability
Buyers need a supply that behaves as expected. Our job is to deliver that consistency, day in, day out. Our 99.98% on-time delivery performance reflects our operational discipline.
- Grading decisions that support the spec (and reduce waste). Our quality management includes AI optical grading, helping us make accurate, repeatable sorting decisions. Where fruit does not meet a specific retail spec, it is redirected to wholesale or processing routes to protect value and minimise waste.
- Packing capability that scales with demand. Alongside apples and pears, we pack mangoes and exotic fruits, using our flow-wrappers , but additionally with labelling and carton packing. We have also invested in technology, including robotic packing and palletising, so that we can scale efficiently as demand changes. What drives us is quality and making it easier for customers to deliver fruit at its best to their consumers.
- Ripening control, with reporting and support. Ripening is where eating quality is protected or lost, so control matters. In our modern ripening chambers, we already ripen over 1 million boxes of pears every year, with the capacity to ripen up to 1.5 million boxes annually. We have also expanded our fruit range to include mangoes. Our experienced product managers provide customers with up-to-date reports from the ripening chambers and practical advice on how to optimise product performance, all based on data.
- Storage and supply management. Storage space can be tight through September and October. This year it has been at a premium, so we have actively managed supply against orders, keeping fruit moving and clearing through the southern hemisphere fruit we hold.
Yield optimisation: what it means in buyer terms
Our yield optimisation work is practical. It means getting the best fruit into the best returning outlets, while reducing avoidable waste and handling costs.
In day-to-day terms, it focuses on:
- Right fruit, right outlet, right time, based on grading outcomes and fruit condition
- Margin protection through smarter allocation when demand or spec shifts
- Waste reduction by planning for secondary routes, not reacting late
What this means for buyers
For retail, wholesale and processing customers, this approach is designed to deliver:
- Consistency and spec discipline, supported by robust grading, packing and ripening control
- Flexibility and continuity, through planned secondary markets and processing routes
- Clear communication and operational reliability, especially when storage and supply are under pressure
Tesco is a long-standing retail customer, and Cottage Farms packs over 360 million apples and pears for them annually. That scale only works with a tight operation and good collaboration across growers, customers and our onsite teams.
Looking ahead
We’re confident in the season ahead, and we’re ready to support buyers who need a reliable partner for UK topfruit programmes. Whether you’d like to discuss a supply plan, arrange a visit, or talk through how we manage eating quality and yield through the season, please get in touch.
Email Chris Browning, Owner and Director at chris@cottagefarms.co.uk or call on 01892 722702.