A north Essex fruit farmer and juice maker has added a Sicilian orange juice to its range in response to demand from trade customers.
Craig and Gail Williamson of Barn Farm, based at Bradfield, near Manningtree, launched a drinks arm at the end of 2017 and now produce five fruit juices.
Barn Farm Drinks' latest product is aimed at complementing its existing range of cloudy and clear fruit juice blends - raspberry and apple, strawberry and apple, blackberry and apple, raspberry, blackcurrant and apple and raspberry and apple juice.
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"We've had lots of feedback from pubs that they'd like us to introduce an orange juice to complement the rest of the range, so we have gone ahead and done just this," said managing director Craig.
"Developing it has been a real adventure for us - we're experts at creating juices from fruit which we either grow ourselves or source locally, but oranges don't flourish in the British climate so we had to look overseas.
"After much research, we found a wonderful supplier in Sicily whose oranges make the most delicious juice. We're really pleased to be adding a quality orange juice as a permanent addition to the popular Barn Farm Drinks range."
The Barn Farm Drinks range contains nothing but pressed fruit - unlike many other fruit juice products.
The juices are bottled at Barn Farm and wherever possible, the Williamsons use fruit which is grown on site.
The business uses state-of-the-art pressing equipment normally used to make champagne and sparkling wine, which the Williamsons believe produces a much fresher and lighter juice where the flavours of the fruit really come through.
They are bottled in glass rather than plastic, and the business runs a number of sustainability initiatives, including an on-site solar farm which provides electricity to 1,400 local homes.
The new orange juice is already available in a number of locations including Pin Mill Sailing Club, the White Horse at Edwardstone and the Castle Inn in Colchester.
The Barn Farm Drinks range is also available farm shops, pubs, cafes and retail outlets across Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, including 94 East England Co-op Stores as part of the chain's 'Sourced Locally' range and 24 Chelmsford Star Co-ops under its 'Only Way is Local' range.
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