News from NATURALLY BERRY

A Fresh Modern Take on Preserves 

Welcome to our Summer Newsletter!

 

We do usually release our newsletters on the 1st day of each season, but this year is different and challenging for us in many ways. 

 

After a long Winter that was "one of a kind" with rain, snow & hail that turned our orchard and veggie garden into wetlands, we are now finally having some warmer weather coming up. There weren’t many occasions were we could do some meaningful work during Winter and Spring with the grass areas turning into mud pits, but slowly it dried off and our fruit trees bounced back from the Winter sleep.

 

Our raspberries are growing fantastic and flowering early. The fruit that set in our orchard looks very promising and there might be a bountiful harvest coming up.

 

Challenges

It has been a very long and tough year 2020 for Naturally Berry.

 

Our troubles started in December 2019 when we applied (with assistance of Regional Development Victoria) for an Artisan Grant to purchase OHS equipment and to help us to move to a different location with better facilities and create employment opportunities.

After 5 months of waiting and not a single word from the Government department we enquired regarding the status of our application just to get told that we had been unsuccessful. They could not even have been bothered to tell us... This left us with large additional expenses which will impact our small business for a long time. 

 

In February we purchased a large amount of glassware as our products became more and more popular during 2019. Then the world changed and all was sitting idle for most of the time....

 

Since the lockdown in March we had to reduce our cooking considerably. As a consequence there was also a drought of new products that we normally release every season with no releases last Spring.

 

We all got a long reality-check this year, that is ongoing and makes doing business extremely challenging. At the start we had produce shortages because of panic buying, lately we were faced with delays due to port workers on strike.

 

To make our live even more challenging we also got dealt a very bad hand with inferior pectin and are still being ignored by a Australian company who supplied it and who we are a long time loyal customer with. We are still under extreme pressure to rectify this as we faced a very high demand of wholesale orders flooding in and our products are at a minimum.

 

Business can be challenging if you trust that your supply stays the same and then discover that 200 products are a throwaway. Not a good place to be in when Christmas is on your doorstep.

 

Challenges however always present opportunities, to evolve, grow or reassess and that’s what we did to become more independent from single suppliers that control the market.

 

The times were and are still uncertain but at least the wait for some fresh products is now luckily over, BIG time.

We were asked many times for the comeback of some popular past products.

 

People may ask now why we do not have these products available all year around.

There is a simple explanation, we have already 30 different products and we keep the best ones as our every day offerings.

 

This is still a one-woman show and there is only sooo much this one woman can do.

Saying so, we do like to experiment with new flavours, too. We leave some room for new things to keep it interesting for everyone. 

 

As we are still unable to offer tastings at markets, we do miss the feedback for our new products and you just can’t rely only on my husband the head tester and me the creator.😉

 

With that said we have quite a lineup for you and your loved ones after a 6 months

drought.

 

The repeat offenders are....

Green Envy, a Spring release from last year.

 

We carried this for quite some time and after quietly ceasing it, we were asked for it over.

 

So as a limited release for Christmas, here it is, an Orange marmalade infused with Blue Curaçao that turns green in the process and makes it a fresh lovely experience on your Christmas morning toast, the right colour for Christmas, too.

 

Very limited release.

Cherry Marzipan ... a long time coming.

 

We tried last year to bring it back but we were overwhelmed with the high demand of all our other products. 

 

Cherries and Marzipan, what can say Christmas better than this. A little bit more pricey but made with the best marzipan and Morello sour cherries. 

 

A nice special addition on your table or your sponge cake. The sky is the limit with possibilities to make your family time special..

Orange Cointreau Marmalade ... very limited release.

 

This was one of our staples on the shelf for years, until we had to cease it two years ago.

 

The lady’s choice marmalade with that little extra sweetness of real French Cointreau.

 

This little number was discontinued because of the rise in the price of Cointreau, that made it pretty prohibitive to put it in a preserve. 

Blood Orange Grand Marnier Marmalade

 

And if you’re looking for something really special for your loved one or yourself, Blood Orange Grand Marnier Marmalade. That’s a mouth full of deliciousness.

 

We continue to put some tipple in our products. For some, sadly the alcohol content disappears during cooking, but the incredible flavour stays.

Elderflower Lime / Lemon Cordial

 

We get asked during the entire year for Elderflower Cordial on our markets.

 

This one can only be produced during Spring, when the Elder bushes put on a show and are covered in those fragrant white umbels that looks like snow sits on the bush. It needs to be produced from fresh flowers as they have all the fragrance this special cordial needs.

 

Consume soon to catch the full flavour of Elderflowers. Excellent as a mixer in cocktails or fresh summer wine.


Due to high demand the lime variety has already sold out. Elderflower Lemon now available.

Our new product for the BBQ season German Curry Ketchup (German spelling)

 

This is true German, whenever you need some food on the run, you go to a German Street food venue (Imbiss Bude). Smother your meat skewers or bratwurst in this deliciousness, even better when slightly warmed up, dust some extra curry powder over it and you’re in heaven. Best consumed with a good quality sausage and Pommes (French Fries). Also delicious with cold cuts, eggs and frankfurters.

 

The Curry Ketchup is our 4th addition to our Beyond Basic BBQ products. The others are: Memphis Style smoky BBQ sauce (if you like a little heat in your dishes), Memphis Style Dry Rub and Magic Dust. 

 

Have a look if you can improve on your BBQ skills with these beauties....

We also offer a new look in gift giving ideas.

 

Double or Triple case packaging made up with your choice of jams or marmalades.

 

Squad glasses only fit in these.

 

Choose your case, choose your product and let us do the rest. Gift wrapping and ribbon included. 

 

Please let us know if you would like to have it Christmas-style wrapped. 

 

This can be shipped as a full gift pack.

Explore Our Full Range

And that’s wrapping up our Summer newsletter.

 

We like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for your support during this difficult time we were all challenged with.

 

We couldn’t have made it through without all our loyal valued customers! 💕👏

 

We will take some time off in January 2021 for a well earned break and preparations for new developments to come. So don’t miss our next newsletter.

 

We wish everybody a great time after all the hardships we all went through.

 

Look out for our Christmas wishes later this month.

 

Stay safe and stay healthy!

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