Angus Soft Fruits, The Berry Specialists have been breeding new varieties since the mid 90’s.
In their first year, the original AVA™ Strawberry was developed, which was the first strawberry grown in the UK to be sold into Premium lines across the UK Supermarkets.
From humble beginnings of making strawberry crosses under a polythene sheet to now an industry-leading Breeding Programme, producing exclusive varieties in 4 different countries with around 2000 tonnes of AVA™ berries being grown in 2019! So the breeding programme has developed significantly in a relatively short period of time.
The primary aim of the Angus Soft Fruits breeding program is to bring new premium selections to the market that have improved flavour, appearance, shelf life, disease resistance and yield than current varieties.
What’s the difference in our AVA™ Berry Varieties?
Our AVA berry varieties are truly something special. This collection of varieties offers superior fruit quality, which is appealing for our growers to grow. In our day-neutral strawberry collection, we have AVA™Blush, which has a very distinctive heart-shaped characteristic and sweet taste. AVA™ Star is a sister variety to Blush, so holds many of the same characteristics but fruits much earlier in the season and is sweet, with a firm but juicy bite and a fresh aroma. AVA™ Rosa is highly flavoured with large conical berries that presents itself well for picking.
Newly released in our short-day collection are AVA Alicia, AVA Catalina and AVA Sofia. All three of these varieties give early production in the Mediterranean region with attractive berries, fresh flavours and long shelf life making them suitable for export.
Lochy Porter
” I grow AVA™ Berries as they provide a point of difference in the market. AVA™ Berries are high yielding and have excellent flavour but most importantly they are economically viable.”
