Co-op has resumed selling exclusively UK-grown strawberries across its shops.

The retailer has become the nation’s first to achieve this milestone for four consecutive years, with British fresh berries appearing on shelves this week alongside the national holiday.

The timing precedes the celebration and showcases Co-op’s commitment to supporting homegrown seasonal produce.

Emily Young, senior purchasing manager at Co-op, explained that the company takes pride in championing UK-sourced fruits and vegetables across its outlets, working closely with suppliers and cultivators to extend the domestic growing window as much as feasible, which is why they are pleased to be moving to entirely British strawberries ahead of rivals for the fourth year running.

Co-op commenced selling British strawberries on March 16 and has boosted the quantity of UK strawberries marketed this term by 98% when measured against the previous year.

The earlier availability of British strawberries has been realised through spending on green growing methods, employing biomass boilers, wood heat exchange pumps, and anaerobic digestion systems to heat polytunnels.

Co-op’s strawberries are currently supplied from Kent, Herefordshire, Chichester, and southwest Wales, with additional production regions—including Lincolnshire, the West Midlands, and Scotland—anticipated to join later in the season.