DRINKS giant Lucozade Ribena Suntory is celebrating the harvesting of the first crop of a new ‘climate-resistant’ blackcurrant after a 20-year research project and a £10m investment came to fruition.

The news of the breakthrough in blackcurrant production came as the company announced a 4.7 per cent rise in profits to £73.1m in 2019.

Its Coleford bottling plant, which employs 330 staff and saw a £13m investment at the start of the year, has continued working throughout the coronavirus pandemic, but has had to adapt to lockdown by producing more ‘drink later’ packs.

Developed by The James Hutton Institute research centre, the harvesting of the new ‘Ben Lawers’ blackcurrant crop came after research involving planting more than 75,000 bushes.

It will help safeguard British blackcurrant production, with 90 per cent of the nation’s crop going into making Ribena.

The soft fruit is vulnerable to the UK’s changing climate and its warmer winters, as it needs a “winter chill” known as vernalisation to initiate growth in the summer

Lucozade Ribena Suntory has pumped more than £10m into the project, with an additional £500,000 recently provided to continue the research into climate change.

Harriet Prosser, agronomist at Lucozade Ribena Suntory, said: “This year’s harvest sees farmers reaping the rewards as 20 years of research comes to fruition.

“Thanks to continued hard work and research, this breed of blackcurrant is now ready for juicing on a large scale to produce that classic Ribena taste.

“Harvest is always the most exciting time of the year but this time around it promises to be doubly rewarding. This year’s weather has demonstrated why we need to be on the front-foot in adapting to a changing climate.”

Dr Dorota Jarret, a soft fruit breeder at the James Hutton Institute’s commercial subsidiary, James Hutton Ltd, added: “We are delighted to see the first commercial crop of Ben Lawers this year.

“Hopefully this cultivar will pioneer innovation in climate resilient crop category, deliver exceptional quality and make the way for further climate-resilient cultivars that are currently on trials at the James Hutton Institute thanks to Lucozade Ribena Suntory’s recent investment.”

Jo Hilditch, a Herefordshire blackcurrant grower and head of the Blackcurrant Foundation, who is growing the new variety of climate-change resilient berries, said: “We have experienced some challenging weather conditions this year after a very warm winter and the driest May on record.

“Thankfully, the June showers followed by some warm weather has helped all our blackcurrant breeds and we are looking forward to a lovely sweet crop that will deliver the distinctive taste Ribena fans know and love.”

Meanwhile, LRS has announced that revenue rose to £425.6m in 2019, a 3.2 per cent rise.

Operating profits were up by 4.7 per cent to £73.1m as pre-tax profits were up 14.2 per cent to £69m.

Gross profits rose from £213.6m to £224.8m as administrative expenses rose £12.8m to £129m.

The company’s net assets at the end of last year were up £20m to £900.1m.

This year, the Coronavirus pandemic has seen the company face major challenges to stay profitable.

Quality, technical, environment, health and safety director Keith Allen said the company had been forced to adapt through lockdown by offering larger pack formats, such as Ribena squash.

“We are quickly adapting to accommodate this shift, creating a wider range of ‘drink later’ formats - such as a multi-pack of Lucozade Energy cans - so people can more easily buy our drinks to enjoy at home.”

finance director Conor Brew added: “Like all businesses, ours has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Market dynamics have shifted dramatically and throughout lockdown we saw weaker footfall and fewer shopping trips as online shopping reached new heights and the weekly big shop returned.

“This did mean reduced demand for our impulse-occasion heartland, but we pride ourselves on being an agile business and worked round the clock to increase the availability of our Ribena and Lucozade drink-later portfolio.”