Over the years, players have come and gone at the famous Wimbledon grounds, but one feature has remained constant: the supplier of its trademark strawberries. Hugh Lowe Farms, situated near Maidstone in Kent, has been the sole supplier of the fruit that has featured at the Grand Slam event for almost 30 years.
Present managing director Marion Regan talked about the importance to the business of the 30 tons they supply over the fortnight; it is huge, even though it is a tiny percentage of their annual sales of 5000 tons.
“To us the Wimbledon order is absolutely pivotal because it is such a high profile event and you realise people from all over the world are eating your strawberries,” she said. “It does rather focus the mind and is slightly nerve wracking as it is a very high-profile strawberry outing.”
France24.com quoted her as saying: “It is nerve wracking with us being reliant on the weather and the vagaries of the market. Wimbledon food and drink is a very special event with fantastic chefs and people in the food and drink department. I do not want to let anyone down with what we are sending.”
Her nerves are understandable as the strawberries do not come cheap once they are sold on at Wimbledon. In 2019, spectators were forking out £2.50 ($3.50) for a minimum of 10 strawberries.