Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Phoney supermarket farm 'Rosedene' - TESCO aarrrgh!!!!

163 replies

Tonty · 07/03/2026 11:23

I am fed up with the awful fruit that is from 'Rosedene Farm'. Absolutely atrocious. I've just has some of their blueberries (they were the only ones left on the shelves). Each one is either hard &sour, or fluffy mushy nonsense, they taste like coagulated fat. Their strawberries are awful too.

I haven't bought this brand for yrs because i tried their oranges before and they were equally awful, but yesterday i was desperate for blueberries with my morning yogurt. What a disappointment! I just looked this farm up and to my amazement discovered its a fictitious farm used to sell Tesco Value products!! Does everybody know this already and I'm just late to the party? apparently all the supermarkets are in on it too. Had i known they were 'Value' fruit, I'd never have bought them. There are many great 'value' products, but fruit is not one of them.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
Ally886 · 08/03/2026 07:33

PickAChew · 08/03/2026 00:33

YABU for expecting nice blueberries early March, when they're out of season. The fake farm thing is something many supermarkets have been doing instead of their "value" lines for years, mind.

Tesco still have it on greetings cards, though 😂

March/April is when blueberries are at their best. The UK consumes far more blueberries in the spring than summer due to tastier fruit and better deals, just not in rosedene which is old season.

British blueberries are bang average as you can only grow a couple of bland varieties

quantumbutterfly · 08/03/2026 00:40

PickAChew · 08/03/2026 00:33

YABU for expecting nice blueberries early March, when they're out of season. The fake farm thing is something many supermarkets have been doing instead of their "value" lines for years, mind.

Tesco still have it on greetings cards, though 😂

I would laugh if I got that card. Mother's day is fun for random gifts but I wouldn't really feel the love if it was only expressed on one day a year.

Meadowfinch · 08/03/2026 00:38

Rosedene isn't a brand it's just what is printed on Tesco plastic bags. Instead, look at the small print. It will tell you country of origin and if in the UK, the supplier & county.

Why are you buying blueberries out of season? No wonder they are horrible. British apples are good now, Portuguese pears, pineapples, kiwis, satsumas, mangos etc. Early rhubarb is just coming in (mine from the garden) or I have frozen berries from last summer.

PickAChew · 08/03/2026 00:33

YABU for expecting nice blueberries early March, when they're out of season. The fake farm thing is something many supermarkets have been doing instead of their "value" lines for years, mind.

Tesco still have it on greetings cards, though 😂

Phoney supermarket farm 'Rosedene' - TESCO aarrrgh!!!!
ThatPearlkitty · 08/03/2026 00:27

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

its more because in essance they are tescos basics no frills brands but repackaged to seem more posh or fancy than they are becase years ago they were labeled as eg tescos low budget range etc so now they seem to be other companies when its just rebranding by tescos

HoskinsChoice · 07/03/2026 23:28

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

MovingBird123 · 07/03/2026 21:26

The only Rosedene produce I buy is the massive punnet if plums - great for stewing, and not the worst to eat fresh after a couple of days. Otherwise I steer well clear. Just needed a cost-effective way to keep this household's digestive systems moving...😬

Gingercatlover · 07/03/2026 21:07

HoskinsChoice · 07/03/2026 19:22

They're not fictitious. They're just brand names. I don't think it's Tesco's fault that you don't understand marketing.

Oh I understand their marketing tactics and see right through it, like I said I don’t buy the cheap rubbish. It’s their value range dressed up to be something it’s not!

Somersetbaker · 07/03/2026 20:49

dubbie · 07/03/2026 16:51

I buy British raspberries and British brambles frozen from M & S. They're good. Tried the British strawberries but they were a bit mushy. I prefer that to buying Moroccan/South African/Egyptian etc fruit...in fact I won't buy their fruit.

Or you could just go out and pick you own blackberries in season, eat some and freeze the rest. Food for free!

OSTMusTisNT · 07/03/2026 19:32

Missing the point but The Tesco Finest Blueberries have been amazing recently,

HoskinsChoice · 07/03/2026 19:25

Agapornis · 07/03/2026 16:48

You know what I mean. The rebranding from all-Tesco to fake brands. Here is a source for the 2018 rebrand: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/tesco-continues-own-label-overhaul-with-eastmans-range/567664.article

What makes a brand fake? Every product has a brand. I'd love to know what you think makes a real brand.

HoskinsChoice · 07/03/2026 19:22

Gingercatlover · 07/03/2026 12:16

Yes. I knew this and never bought any of it, at one point Tesco had a lot of these type of fictitious brands, not sure if they still do?

They're not fictitious. They're just brand names. I don't think it's Tesco's fault that you don't understand marketing.

dubbie · 07/03/2026 16:51

Tonty · 07/03/2026 13:15

Where do you get your frozen fruit from?

I buy British raspberries and British brambles frozen from M & S. They're good. Tried the British strawberries but they were a bit mushy. I prefer that to buying Moroccan/South African/Egyptian etc fruit...in fact I won't buy their fruit.

Somersetbaker · 07/03/2026 16:48

MetroCas · 07/03/2026 16:21

You’ll be telling me Aunt Bessie isn’t real next, and that she doesn’t make all those Yorkshire puddings in the kitchen of her country cottage.

Betty Crocker's a real person though isn't she?

Boomer55 · 07/03/2026 16:33

The price alone shoukd have told you that it isn’t a proper farm. Real farm stuff is always expensive.

As ever, you get what you pay for.

MetroCas · 07/03/2026 16:21

You’ll be telling me Aunt Bessie isn’t real next, and that she doesn’t make all those Yorkshire puddings in the kitchen of her country cottage.

DrLevy · 07/03/2026 16:18

Agapornis · 07/03/2026 13:08

They rebranded Tesco Value in about 2018. A friend working in design was involved at very low level, and had to sit through some very, very tedious meetings.

Tesco ‘value’ was replaced by ‘everyday value’ in 2012

IsaacBenabram · 07/03/2026 16:13

@Somersetbaker , Hydroponics - Wikipedia
@grumpygrape , I'm saddened that apparently so many people no longer understand what fruits and vegetables are in season in this country and don't check the provenance of the f&v they buy. I agree.

godmum56 · 07/03/2026 15:48

rememberingthem · 07/03/2026 12:11

I think tesco on the whole has really taken a nosedive in the last couple of years! Stock levels, quality of products have all been rubbish! I use ocado now, its only slightly more expensive but far better quality.

they pricecheck with tesco!

grumpygrape · 07/03/2026 15:47

Tonty · 07/03/2026 11:23

I am fed up with the awful fruit that is from 'Rosedene Farm'. Absolutely atrocious. I've just has some of their blueberries (they were the only ones left on the shelves). Each one is either hard &sour, or fluffy mushy nonsense, they taste like coagulated fat. Their strawberries are awful too.

I haven't bought this brand for yrs because i tried their oranges before and they were equally awful, but yesterday i was desperate for blueberries with my morning yogurt. What a disappointment! I just looked this farm up and to my amazement discovered its a fictitious farm used to sell Tesco Value products!! Does everybody know this already and I'm just late to the party? apparently all the supermarkets are in on it too. Had i known they were 'Value' fruit, I'd never have bought them. There are many great 'value' products, but fruit is not one of them.

Sorry, OP, this is a general observation, not trying to be nasty to you, but I'm saddened that apparently so many people no longer understand what fruits and vegetables are in season in this country and don't check the provenance of the f&v they buy.

Somersetbaker · 07/03/2026 15:23

There is a farm near me that is a major supplier of winter strawberries, grown hydroponically (is that a real word) in heated glass houses with artificial light which was a bit of a local issue until they fitted blinds to stop the light pollution. I suppose it's cheaper than flying them in from somewhere, but i'm not sure indifferent out of season soft fruit is an essential purchase. When I was a child winter fruit was apples, oranges and bananas, tinned peaches, tinned pineapple and a selection of plums, damsons, gooseberries or rhubarb all bottled in syrup by mum during the summer then used during the early months of the year.

IsaacBenabram · 07/03/2026 15:20

Most fruit at Aldi is rubbish. It doesn’t last.
How long would you expect it to last?

If I pick fruit from the garden, it doesn't last.

TheAutumnCrow · 07/03/2026 15:19

SpringIsSpringing2026 · 07/03/2026 12:36

They're not a fictitious brand. The brand exists.

Yes, I suppose it’s more of a fictitious provenance.

PuggyPuggyPuggy · 07/03/2026 15:11

JTRSOP · 07/03/2026 13:06

M&S sells great fruit and veg. My rabbit will only eat M&S celery- won’t touch Tesco one 😂

This made me chuckle. I had a voucher last year for a free pack of M & S cocktail sausages, because apparently I am one of their top buyers of the things. I thought it best not to tell anyone that I buy them to stuff my dog's medication in 😂

Anyway, I knew Rosedene Farms was a brand name, but maybe it was obvious to me because supermarket apples often come branded as "British Apples" and then there's the variety and grower stamped on the pack where the best before date is. Doesn't everything say where it's grown?

Swipe left for the next trending thread