WHO WE ARE
The Blackcurrant Foundation was founded in 2005 to raise awareness of this great British super fruit. Today a group of 35 passionate members grow the highest quality blackcurrants, with a unique taste that we have all come to love whether in cordials, jams, smoothies or straight from the punnet!
A POTTED HISTORY
(Ribes nigrum)
The humble blackcurrant really isn’t humble at all, it is a gem in our British countryside that we are proud to grow and share. Blackcurrants have been growing in the British countryside since the 17th century, records suggest, when blackcurrants were revered for their many medicinal qualities. Over the years it has grown in popularity and in 1826 the Ribes
However, it wasn’t until around the
THE ART OF GROWING
We are not just growers, we are passionate artists of the land, perfecting our craft of blackcurrant growing. We manage 2,000 hectares of blackcurrant fields across the British Isles, producing a crop of over 13,000 tonnes every year; harvested from July-August when our berries are at their sweetest.
Many of our growers today are third or fourth generation farmers who take pride in the history of growing this specialist fruit and do so with passion and creativity.
JOIN US IN THE FIELD
We love sharing our passion for blackcurrants and each year our growers open their gates and invite you to join them during our blackcurrant harvest. We do this in association with our friends at Ribena and always plan an exciting day of fun events.
We love hearing stories from those of you who in years gone by helped handpick the berries and we are delighted to see the faces of children experiencing a freshly picked blackcurrant for the first time! If you’d like to join us look out for more details here in the Summer.
WHERE WE GROW
Across 5 UK regions, our growers work with the land and nature to harvest around 12,000 tonnes of blackcurrants that are used to create a well-known blackcurrant syrup, frozen berries and more.
