Speciality Food Magazine - April 2026

14 The Feed. Fresh Seasonality and quality lie at the heart of a well-curated fresh produce section, as well as strong communication around provenance. With decades of experience and a passion for supplying high-quality fresh produce, our customers can always tell that our seasonal Mudwalls Fresh Produce ranges are fresh, sustainable and delicious. We are proud to work with some of the finest fresh produce growers and artisan producers in Great Britain to create an all-year- round, seasonal fresh produce portfolio, and pride ourselves on quality, reliability and scalability – delivering fresh produce efficiently, responsibly and sustainably. Sustainable evolution Sustainability plays a key role in the fresh produce sector in 2026. Our packaging choices are made specifically by product to ensure the best quality is captured whilst reducing plastic wherever possible and utilising a range of biodegradable and recyclable packaging. Provenance sells Provenance is important to the majority of our consumers, who recognise not only where the product is grown but who the grower is, too. This gives a sense of loyalty and good community support to local businesses. We believe that consumers like to familiarise themselves with people they know in their local area therefore this encourages great support. The majority of the Mudwalls customer tends to focus on British as their priority, however we have a good demand for products that are less common in most retailers – examples are dragon fruit from Thailand, and blood oranges from Italy or Spain. Overcoming challenges British fresh produce has struggled with the increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. Seasonal planning has become extremely difficult due to volatile temperatures and rainfall. With a focus on fresh, local, British Produce, we avoid importing where possible. This sometimes limits our ability to fill gaps with imported produce. Instead, we are broadening our British supply base by building relationships through our strong network of growers. As well as availability, quality has been affected on key British lines such as Purple Sprouting Broccoli. We work closely with our growers to ensure we supply only the best product to our customers. While international weather has also been unpredictable, our focus on British produce has allowed us to support our customers with British alternatives, such as our all year-round local tomatoes filling gaps when Moroccan tomatoes are unavailable. I predict a good future for premium fresh produce with an increasing awareness of high quality fresh produce, especially in the higher demographic and younger health conscious consumer that gets influenced by social media. “The power of provenance” UKorganicmarket doubles indecade Strawberry-picking began in earnest in March at S&A Produce's Hernhill Nursery in Faversham, Kent – an unconventionally early start for a season which traditionally begins in April and May. Nick Marston, chair of British Berry Growers, said, “British berry growers are adopting precision irrigation, AI crop-counting, UVC disease robots, biological pest control and renewable energy systems. These investments are helping growers produce high-quality berries more efficiently, extend the British season, and continue supplying fresh British fruit for longer periods of the year.” According to the 2026 Organic Market Report , produced by Soil Association Certification, the UK organic market has entered its 14th consecutive year of growth and is now worth £3.9 billion. Sales of organic food and drink have increased faster than that of conventional food and drink – supermarket sales of organic products have increased four times that of non-organic, with an overall growth of 4.2%. The report also states that 93% of British households are purchasing organic produce. Eggs and dairy have been one of the biggest drivers, seeing an uplift of over 8.2%, and these as well as other household staples such as bananas, carrots and salad have helped the UK organic sector to be the eighth largest market in the world for organic retail sales. “The continued growth of the organic market reflects the strong consumer demand for healthier, more nature friendly food,” said Alex Cullen, commercial director at Soil Association Certification. “Concerning headlines around both pesticides and PFAS or 'forever chemicals' in food, and their link to health issues, have no doubt also captured consumer attention and driven shoppers to look for the organic logo, a trusted signpost to fewer artificial pesticides, additives and higher welfare. Businesses are wise to take notice and continue to make organic food and drink available and accessible in their stores so that consumer footfall continues to be captured.” “Businesses have taken note, and now we need the government to do the same and help more English farmers on the path to organic conversion." The majority of our consumers recognise not only where the product is grown but who the grower is, too GEORGE BEACH FOUNDER, MUDWALLS FARM Ki Kefir An organic, traditional kefir packed with probiotics. kikefir.com The UK kefir market is steadily expanding, with the fermented dairy drink moving from niche to mainstream understanding driven by its gut-boosting health benefits, and is projected to pass a value of USD 120 million by 2030. TOP PRODUCT