strawberry fields forever

Last week Lucy, Sam, Felicity and Vanessa took a trip out to Northern Poland to have a look at the Senga Sengana strawberries we use in our smoothies. This was a very well timed trip as Senga Sengana strawberries are currently in harvest right now (plus it's quite hot in Poland at the minute so the girls could break in their summer wardrobes at last).

Here they are trying to track down some strawberries.

It wasn't too hard to find some thankfully...

Senga Sengana strawberries are the very finest strawberries we can find, deliciously tasty, extremely fruity & juicy with a unique deep red colour.

Lucy (our chief cherry picker) definitely approves.

If you'd like to try the delicious properties of Senga Sengana strawberries yourself then a great place to start would be our current smoothie of the month, or the old favourite strawberries and bananas. Happy tasting.

Comments

[will vaughan]

what's wrong with british strawbs guys? I live in the heart of polytunne country and I don't mind them one bit as I eat the strawbs that they help make, surley with all this carbon footprint jazz you've been going on about it might make better sense to source from England?

[Jilly]

Hi, Yes, that previous comment is exactly what sprung to mind when I read your strawbs come from Poland!!? I live on the East coast of Scotland and we have fab strawberries up here - but having said that there must be suppliers closer to Fruity Towers?
I'm interested to hear the reasoning behind your strawberry supply...apart from that, great work guys ;o)

[Kate]

Bring on the British strawberry!!!
How big is your carbon footprint? Where is the support for British farmers?
X

[Liam]

Whilst a fan of Innocent I was somewhat dismayed by the fact you get your strawberries from Poland. Britain has lovely tasting strawberries, you guys talk around shipping your fruit rather than using air freight well surely buying British is the best allround option.

[Bow]

My feelings echo exactly the other comments made. I just ate a delicious punnet of fruity, tasty, deep-red coloured British strawberries. As well as supporting local farmers, sourcing local produce significantly reduces food miles so is better for the environment. To be honest I expected better from a company like Innocent that usually prides itself on its ethical policies. Buy local!

[rache]

knowing a little bit about fruit
UK straws are sold into UK supermarkets as they are top quality and used for fresh consumption
the particular variety from poland is a good fresh tasting strawbery but doesnt travel well hence is used in processing more - i.e Innocents wonderful strawberry smoothies. UK strawberries would be great but UK growers want the best top prices that the UK retailers are willing to pay

[Ellie]

Scottish strawberries are the best! With all the Scottish rain to make them nice & juicy, you cannot possibly find better. Come on guys...support your country!! Buy British!!

[bea]

EH HEM! hang your head in shame!

Just think of all those nasty air miles. And of all those british straws that are the bestest that your letting pass you by.

[Sarah]

Have to agree with all previous comments re sourcing British produce.
Hardly ethical from an environmental perspective and is it just because they are cheaper in Poland?

[beth]

Most British Strawberries taste of blah - its hard to come by a tasty strawberry - luckily we have a Shute Fruit down the hill where you pick them yourself. I LOVE strawberries, they are my favourite fruit - so much so I had one tattooed on me haha

[Anna MacLean]

The whole 'buy local' strategy doesn't always work (e.g. it's probably better for the environment for British supermarkets to have tomatoes grown in the Spanish sun flown in during winter than having British farmers using electricity to heat greenhouses to keep them in) BUT it does seem to go against the values of Innocent to be sourcing their strawberries in Poland when both Scotland and England are famous for theirs? Je me demande, pourquoi?

[andyp]

Whilst I find the whole conversation about location interesting - and it would be cool to read your response - I just wanted to say, Poland is great. My wife is Polish and I love it there. Hope you enjoyed the visit. BTW the cherries and strawberries smoothie is great too.

[Richard Reed]

Hello. Our policy is to source locally where the quality, variety and quantity is available (eg we source apples, blackcurrants, yoghurt etc locally). The variety os strawberry we need (the senga sengana) simply doesn't grow in the UK in any meaningful quantities, so we can't get it in the UK. We choose that variety due to its rich taste and colour that works better in a smoothie than say the El Santa strawberry which is the main one grown in the UK. Rest assured, we have a strict no air-freight policy - all our fruit comes by land or sea only. thanks.

Rich
Co-founder
innocent

[Laura]

I'm not a strawberry expert or anything but I often buy the El Santa strawberries that Rich mentioned, and I do agree that when I make a smoothie myself they don't really seem to work as well. I can't really explain it 'cos as i said i am no expert. but I trust innocent know what they are doing when they go for the variety that is grown in Poland. Anyway, places like Tesco and M&S make a point of selling British (and Irish over here) stawberries at this time of year so you can do your bit to buy your own.
BTW, my own smoothies are rubbish compared to Innocents ! ;-)
Laura, Dublin.

[Sharon]

Sorry Guys,but I too am shocked that with your company ethos you are buying strawberries from Poland in the height of english strawberry season!
Elsanta are rubbish but there are loads of fantastic varieties - not grown in poly tunnels either.

Where we can, we should back britain all the way!

[Maureen Ling]

Well, that's finished me for buying anymore 'Innocent' drinks!!

What's wrong with using English strawberries ? Nothing! They are the best tasting strawberries in the world!!

No apology from me!

Maureen - 20 June 2007

[Cha]

Wow, this all talk about British/Polish strawberries is amazing... Well, if it can be reminded to many of the persons who just commented here, Britain is part of Europe, just as Poland. And giving work to Poland is giving jobs in England. And market with ethics, just as Innocent's (NO AIR FREIGHT, guys, I don't know a lot of companies that can say this) is what will make this world get better at going round :)
So, for sure, I don't know british strawberries (I am French), but I do know garriguettes, very very tasty strawberries, but also very expensive ones. And even though I'd love to see that Innocent uses Strwaberries from my own country, I am sure that I could not afford a smoothie made out of these!
So, let's calm down our nationalist feelings and enjoy our cool and sweet and tasty and world-friendly smoothies...

[Megan]

I think the stawberries in my garden are the tastiest in the world. Unfortunately so does all the local wildlife....

[Julia]

I applaud Innocent for using Polish strawberries AND for letting everyone know! British strawberries tend to be lovely and sweet but on the watery side - they are nice to eat but make a light orangey-red puree. Senga Sengana puree is a dark, rich, flavourful red! Trade is beneficial for both countries, so I don't see a problem with using Polish strawberries if they are at once more flavourful and more competitive. Makes for nicer smoothies for us all to enjoy, in the end.

[June Obee]

Quite honestly I don't care where the strawberries come from, I trust you guys, so go ahead, your smoothies are brilliant
June

[Agnieszka]

Well, as being Polish I have to admit our strawberries are fabulous. Not to be offensive, but this stuff you get in British supermarkets packed and labelled as strawberries is honestly much worse in taste than the Polish equivalent.
Besides, it's good for a company like innocent drinks to make connections with international suppliers.
Your smoothies should be worldwide known guys.
All the best!

[Sandra]

Oh no. Just when you thought it was safe to blog again...

I agree with Anna MacLean when she says "the whole buy local strategy doesn't always work". It'd be easy if things were that black and white, but they're not.
Just wanted to say I LOVE all your smoothies, including strawberries and bananas and strawberries and cherries.

Maybe one day, if you're playing in the kitchen with a few strawberries and a couple of guavas (as you do), you could try my mum's smoothie recipe: strawberries, guavas, bananas and oranges. It's one of my favourites.

Long live transparency and innocence!
Keep up the amazing work
xx

[moses]

Poland for strawberries? Wow! I’m a BIG innocent fan! I live in Portugal and each time i travel to the UK, my first stop b4 leaving the airport is to get my dose of innocent smoothies. If you’re into taste, quality and the well being of all those fans that drink your smoothies, you should look at Portugal strawberries. Yes, I'm shamelessly promoting Portugal strawberries, and why not? We have great strawberries and one of my favourites is Daddyberry strawberries (http://www.daddyberry.com) ...by far my favourite berries in the world. I reckon if you're going to use strawberries in your tasty smoothie why not go for strawberries that not only taste good but are free of chemicals….keep up the great work guys.

[Calin]

Wow, what a big debate for such a small fruit. I only know Innocent from their web and newsletter, as their products did not hit Romania so far. So my question is: when will you buy strawberries from Romania?

Cheers!
Calin

[pajonk]

... go to poland
... then get some fresh strawberries
... then milk a cow :) (that's tricky one)
... add some flakes

and most important TASTE THE DIFFERENCE...

and i'm not saying that cause i'm polish... :) cheers...

[Elaine]

What about all that radioactivity from Chernobyl? I'm not sure I'm happy about eating stuff grown in Poland for that reason (as well as the food miles) - if you actually wrote 'Polish strawberries' on the carton I wouldn't buy it.

[andrew]

being a strawberry farmer i can tell you the price per ton for frozen strawberry is around £650 - in britain we can't even pick them for this figure