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

[Tonty]

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.

Tescos say they did it to remove the stigma attached to buying the value brand which is understandable. But I would say it makes life easier to make choices when you're shopping if things are clearly labelled a value product.

I agree it's good to share this kind of information - thanks OP.

I've found a handy guide to seasonal food here:

https://www.bda.uk.com/food-health/your-health/sustainable-diets/seasonal-fruit-and-veg-a-handy-guide.html

It's common not to know this stuff now that supermarkets stock everything year round. Most people don't grow their own fruit and veg and even those who do can't grow everything.

I also thought they were a real farm, but I just Googled it and yes it does seem it's a Tesco brand. They are extremely cheap, about £1.50 for a box of blueberries or raspberries. As a pp said, I haven't had any more problems than I've had with pricier fruit. But yes the boxes are tiny. Just received my Tesco order as it happens, and the two Rosedene boxes look fine.

I just found this page from Gardeners' World and it lists (for those of us who don't know it all!) what's in season and what isn't (Fruit and Veg): What Fruit and Veg is in Season? A Month-by-Month Guide | BBC Gardeners World Magazine

I've been buying Dyson strawberries from Ocado over the past few months. They're grown in the UK year round. Absolutely delicious.

Surely the prices on the different packs will be enough of a clue .

I thought everyone knew that or could figure it out.

Why did you think it was so cheap?

An altruistic farm?

Tesco fruit and veg regardless of sub brand has always been a bit crap. I stopped shopping there as a student after getting odd woody bits in all my avocados.

Yep and many meat/dairy/egg products are market with whimsical sounding farm names and are actually just caged hen factories for example.

I have never heard of them, but then I don't frequent Tesco much. I will avoid their 'fresh' stuff though! So they are using a fake farm?! Where is the stuff actually coming from then?

Surely its obvious that one farm is not going to produce enough of any product to supply the whole of Tesco and its just a brand name The fruit will have grown on a farm somewhere before moving through the supply chain and ending up on supermarket shelves but its not going to be good quality if its sold cheap.

Stamford St in London is where Sainsbury's were originally based.

Most fruit at Aldi is rubbish. It doesn’t last.

Blueberries can be very hit and miss so I tend to buy frozen as they’re always nice.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

they pricecheck with tesco!

@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.

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

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.

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.

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

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