According to newspaper reports, Marks and Spencer could be looking to offer customers the chance to ‘pick their own’ strawberries after unveiling a trial at its flagship Marble Arch store in London just in time for Wimbledon.

In fact the installation was created by Bompas and Parr who worked with British Summer Fruits on an installation entitled ‘Fruit Fantasia’, which was in place for just a few days.

The proposed multi-sensory environment takes the principals of fashion retailing and brings it to the food environment, which is typically a purely functional space that has not undergone as much innovation as other retail streams. The concept is to bring the scents, tastes and sounds of a strawberry field to the shopping aisle.

Andy Mitchell, M&S Strawberry Expert said, “The start of the British strawberry season is one of the highlights of the summer calendar and it’s great to see that this very clever installation will really bring to life the many delicious qualities of our strawberries. We hope our customers enjoy it and are looking forward to seeing their reaction.”

Research conducted by The University of London revealed that the scent of strawberries can evoke feelings of summer and nostalgia and shoppers, will be able to taste and smell the strawberries as soon as they enter, through a berry mist that will emerge around the store.

Laurence Olins, Chairman of British Summer Fruits, added, “The soft fruit industry is at the forefront of innovation–plant breeders raise tens of thousands of seedlings each year and only about one per cent go forward for further trialling.”

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