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“ In 2007 , we moved to a purpose-built facility on Apple Way in Spalding , Lincolnshire , where we ’ ve created a center of excellence for our ripening and value-added services . We specialize in ripening avocados , pears , and stone fruits to ‘ ready to eat ’ specifications for a range of UK retailers . We then dispatch the ripening products directly into the customer depots . In 2020 we installed the Softripe ripening system at Apple Way , an innovative software for ripening fruit using a controlled atmosphere system .
“ Softripe was a game-changer for the UK avocado market ,” he states . “ Although there had been a small amount of activity in ripening bananas , we were the first company in the UK to use such software on avocados . Today , 100 percent of our avocado offering is ripened using the Softripe system , which provides us with a point of difference when it comes to quality and extended shelf life . Our customer complaint levels have significantly reduced , and we are delivering improved product consistency .”
Hannah confirms : “ Softripe leads to increased customer satisfaction , as we can be confident in not only the quality , but also the readiness of our products . Consumers get exactly what they ’ re expecting with no disappointments like hard fruit or inconsistency . Part of our direction of travel is continuous improvement , so despite embedding Softripe into our process , we ’ re constantly evaluating the recipes and processes to ensure we ’ re delivering an improved service or product .”
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