This will slash food miles for the produce, which is currently transported from Cornwall to Asda’s distribution depot in Bristol, before being sent back to Cornwall again. "That just doesn’t make any sense," said Carol Ford, sales director at Well-Pict European, based in Evesham, Worcestershire. We have a passion for getting our food into shops as fresh and as quickly as possible," she added. "The trial will last for two months, and if it is a success then it will continue. This is just a starting point- we want to make better use of the Lorries going around the country to various depots."

Each of the farmers will deliver their produce into local strawberry grower Neil Hosking’s farm near Hayle, where he will pack and transport it into ASDA stores in Falmouth, St Austell, Bodmin and Plymouth. "The intention is to get a better price for the farmers’ products and to reduce food miles," said Mrs Ford. "As a farmer-owned business we understand that we need to talk to our customers about their desires and needs. People are very patriotic to their own county and are very aware of cutting food miles and saving energy."

This strong demand means that Well-Pict is now seeing more growers across the county to supply local markets. "We have a network of UK growers who grow and pack product for delivery to a cluster of specific stores in their locality," said Mrs Ford. "But we just can’t meet demand at the moment, we want to have a network of supply for all buyers- from local spas to big supermarkets, Strawberries have let the way because of their short shelf life, but if we can do it with Strawberries we can do it with anything."

The firm currently handles about 20% of England’s strawberries, and imports berries to complement the English season. However, it also handles plums and topfruit and may seek to expand into vegetables should the Cornish trial prove successful. Interested parties should contact Rachel on 01386 835 064.

Specialist requirements such as crop protection and harvesting can be contracted back to Well Pict European to ensure the projects deliver, and advice and help with transport are also available.