New Driscoll’s varieties score well with consumers

This junebear season, Driscolls have been launching promising new varieties, specially developed and locally tested for the Northern European growing areas and market. First feedback from growers is promising and consumer tests showed that these brand new Driscoll’s varieties are well received.

Recent consumer panel testing performed by the renowned and objective market and consumer research agency The Opinion Group, shows that Driscoll’s new junebear strawberries score significantly better on all aspects compared to a public variety tested in the same period. Over 75 % of the panel rated the product as "Good" to "Very Good" for their first overall impression before consumption, which can be considered as the most important indicator for the initial buying intention. On the new Driscoll’s Diamond even 93% of the respondents rated the highest score on first impressions. Overall, the varieties were mostly rated as "Good" to "Very Good" on the elements of taste, freshness and colour. One respondent even mentioned: "This is the perfect strawberry."

The new junebearers are also positively received by growers. Eric Jansen, grower from Borgloon, Belgium, is excited about the new strawberry varieties Driscoll’s launches this summer. "The new junebearers taste absolutely delightful, and more importantly, this great flavour is consistent as well." Also, he observes an advantage regarding the sorting of the berries: "There are fewer deformations, and overall, their size is quite large, they are intensely red coloured and have a firm texture, if you compare them with the existing public varieties." He adds: "For me as a grower, it is very convenient that one of the new varieties is a bit later in harvesting. This is beneficial for the picking crew as the capacity is rather equally spread throughout the season which contributes to their working comfort. Moreover, it is the perfect timing to fill in a current supply gap in the market." The Driscoll’s grower believes that consumers will really enjoy the new Driscoll’s strawberries. "Not only because they are very tasteful, but also because they look very appealing."

By continuously breeding for delight, Driscoll’s is developing and improving on new and existing varieties, such as the recently launched Driscoll’s Diamond and the highly regarded Driscoll’s Lusa and Camarillo.

For more information please visit www.driscolls.eu