BELVOIR FRUIT FARMS, the family-ran cordial and presséproducer, has announced that it has surpassed its target of fresh elderflowers within just two weeks of its planned month-long harvesting season.
Demand for its premium elderflower cordial soared by 15% in the grocery sector during the coronavirus lockdown, and the drinks company estimated it needed between 15 and 20 tonnes of picked elderflowers during June to last until the 2021 harvest, calling on willing volunteers across Leicestershire to lend their support to pick the volume of product needed.
The local community responded in their droves, and within two weeks the company recorded 23 tonnes of picked elderflowers at its Bottesford-based factory, which is more than enough to produce the drink for the next 12 months. As a result, the company has now closed its harvest drop-off at the factory in record time.
Pev Manners, managing director of Belvoir Fruit Farms, said: “This is undoubtedly a year like no other and we’ve been blown away by the willingness from the local community to still lend their support to this year’s harvest.
“I think it’s fair to say that - given the circumstances surrounding this year’s harvest and social distancing measures - we were cautious in our tonnage targets, but to not only meet it but exceed it in the space of two weeks is truly humbling.
“We put stringent social distancing measures in place at the start of the harvest and I couldn’t be more grateful to our dedicated pickers for wholeheartedly following them. Of course, a special mention must also go to our staff, who were outstanding in their operation of the factory drop-off process and ensured that, despite this year’s challenging conditions, we have made it a year to remember.”
Elderflowers used to create the company’s much-loved cordials and pressés are comprised of both organic elderflowers from the 60-acres of company-owned plantations and from the miles of wild hedgerows across the county. The elderflower cordial and pressé drinks are still based on the Manners family’s original recipe, developed more than four decades ago.
To find out more about Belvoir Fruit Farms, visit https://www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk/.