With the UK's first blackcurrants being harvested this week, growers are keen to expand their markets beyond the one customer who buys 95% of the crop.

Kent is the first part of the country to see the currants ripen, but less than one berry in 20 will find its way onto supermarket shelves; most are trucked to Somerset where they are juiced for Ribena.

But the UK's 45 growers, who have seen the 'made with British blackcurrants' label take root so well at Ribena, are now wondering whether they could repeat the success of the Bramley apple by encouraging other food producers to use British berries. "We believe we've got a better product," said grower and head of the Blackcurrant Foundation, John Hinchcliffe. "Ribena could buy cheaper from abroad, but they couldn't buy such good quality. We've got full traceability and we all take part in environmental schemes such as the Wildlife Trust."

But he admits that consumers are bemused by the fruit. "Blueberries are sexy, but we want to get the message out that blackcurrants are as good, if not better, nutritionally. It's not the price that's the problem - people just don't know what to do with them."

That is something the foundation is trying to change by stealth. It wants people who visit its web site to ask manufacturers from Robinsons to Sara Lee why they do not use British blackcurrants. Hinchcliffe also believes that some proactive marketing might be necessary, including distributing recipe leaflets using blackcurrants.

In the end, though, he reckons juicing will always be growers' main outlet. With contracts guaranteeing £600/t, it is not really worth trying to compete with fresh imports, which go for as little £150/t. "There's a massive glut in the EU, mainly because of overproduction in Poland," he said.