Aldi’s largest pumpkin supplier is preparing to deliver more than 500,000 pumpkins to stores this Halloween, following continued growth in the twelve-year partnership.
Fen Farming, based on the Cambridgeshire and Norfolk border, has been growing pumpkins for Aldi since 2014 and is now the supermarket’s largest pumpkin supplier.
The first-generation family farm has been operating for almost 40 years, with the whole family managing its day-to-day operations across 800 acres of fertile Fenland.
Despite an exceptionally dry summer creating challenging conditions for pumpkin growers across the UK, Fen Farming’s silt soil has retained moisture well, helping to protect this year’s crop. The family has also taken additional steps, including renting access to irrigated fields and upgrading equipment so seeds can be planted deeper and closer to moisture.
As demand for Halloween pumpkins has grown, so too has Fen Farming’s partnership with Aldi. This growth has enabled the business to invest more than £750,000 in its pumpkin operation, including new harvesting equipment and state-of-the-art washing technology.
Since the partnership began in 2014, Fen Farming has grown the number of pumpkins it supplies to Aldi from 25,000 to more than half a million a year.
Stuart Gibson, Sales Manager at Fen Farming, said: “Halloween is always one of the busiest and most exciting times of the year for us, and there’s nothing better than seeing pumpkins we’ve grown here in the Fens heading to Aldi stores across the country.
“It’s been a challenging growing season because of the hot, dry weather, so we’ve had to adapt and find new ways to give the crop the best possible conditions. If the rest of the season goes well, this could be our biggest year yet supplying Aldi.”
Julie Ashfield, Chief Commercial Officer at Aldi UK, said: “Pumpkins are a big part of the build-up to Halloween for families across the country, so we’re proud to work with British growers like Fen Farming to get hundreds of thousands of them into our stores each year.
“We’ve worked with the family for more than a decade and it’s fantastic to see how the partnership has grown, with Fen Farming now our largest supplier of pumpkins.”
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