Retailer signs five-year grower agreements as demand for British berries rises and producers face cost and climate pressures.
Lidl GB has committed £500 million to British berry sourcing over the next five years, signing new five-year agreements with UK growers as demand for home-grown fruit continues to rise.
The long-term deals provide growers with greater certainty to invest and expand production despite rising costs and increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.
“We are backing British farming with a £500 million vote of confidence in our British berry growers,” said Richard Bourns, Chief Commercial Officer at Lidl GB. “By extending our long-term agreements, we’re providing the security suppliers need to build a resilient future.”
The announcement follows strong growth across Lidl’s berry category. The retailer said sales of British blueberries have increased by more than 200 percent over the past three years, making them one of the UK’s fastest-growing fruit categories. Sales of British blackberries rose by almost 93 percent over the same period, while volumes of Lidl’s Deluxe Blush Strawberries increased by 50 percent last year.
According to British Berry Growers, Lidl’s British berry volumes increased from around 11,500 tonnes in 2023 to more than 15,700 tonnes in 2025, a rise of more than 36 percent in two seasons. The retailer now accounts for around 12.6 percent of all British berry tonnage sold through the organisation’s members.
Growers welcome retailer commitment
“This kind of retailer investment and commitment to British berries is exactly what our growers need,” said Nick Marston, Chair of British Berry Growers. “As we head into another British berry season, that continued support for homegrown produce is more important than ever.”
We are backing British farming with a £500 million vote of confidence in our British berry growers. By extending our long-term agreements, we’re providing the security suppliers need to build a resilient future.”
Richard Bourns, Chief Commercial Officer at Lidl GB
Tom Busby, Director at Dearnsdale Farm in Staffordshire, added: “Now we have a long-term agreement with Lidl GB, this will give us as a British grower the opportunity and confidence to continue to invest and adapt in the everchanging world of berries into the next century.”
The investment builds on Lidl GB’s wider commitment to the UK food and farming sector, including its pledge last year to spend £30 billion with British suppliers by 2030.
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