Co-op British Strawberries Pennant

Source: Co-op

The retailer said it was expecting to sell 89 punnets per minute across the royal celebrations

The Co-op is predicting bumper sales of strawberries during the upcoming coronation celebrations, with sales of the soft fruit expected to rise by a quarter compared with last year’s levels.

The retailer would also be the first major supermarket to switch to 100% British strawberries this season, it claimed, with its strawberry offering across its 2,400 stores transitioning to UK-grown fruit on 4 May, in time for King Charles III’s coronation on 6 May.

The Co-op is expecting to sell 89 punnets per minute across the royal celebrations – with total sales of 500,000 punnets expected in the week leading up to and throughout the royal weekend.

“We’re all looking forward to celebrating with friends and family over the coronation weekend and what better way than with a British classic of strawberries and cream,” said Mark Cloudy, Co-op buyer.

“We’re devoted to supporting British growers and are thrilled to be the first supermarket to offer British strawberries to our customers [this season],” he added. “The first British strawberries hitting the shelves reminds the nation that the highly anticipated summer is on its way, and what better way to celebrate the occasion.”