‘Best in world’: Coles data reveals uptick in demand for Aussie item

New data has revealed soaring sales of a locally grown product – with many stating “it’s not Christmas in Australia without” this food item.

While many businesses are already starting to wind down as the silly season takes hold, it’s the complete opposite for Stephen and Glenn Riseborough.

The brothers run CherryHill Orchards, a family-owned and operated business now in its third generation that, as the name suggests, specialises in growing the small, red stone-fruit.

Despite the fact cherry season runs from late October to the end of February, demand soars in December, largely due to the fact the fruit is the ultimate symbol of Christmas in Australia.

Shopping data from Coles shows that in the two weeks leading up to December 25 last year, customers purchased an incredible 600 tonnes of cherries.

Just to put that into perspective for you, that’s enough to fill 2.4 million Coles shopping trolleys to the brim, the supermarket said.

Unlike most Aussies, cherry farmers Stephen and Glenn Riseborough aren’t winding down for Christmas just yet. Picture: news.com.au

CherryHill supplied 125 tonnes of those cherries, with Stephen Riseborough telling news.com.au there’s no rest at the Yarra Valley farm at this time of year.

“With the way Christmas falls, cherries are in their peak, so there has always been an abundance of the fruit at that time,” he explained.

“I think in more recent times, Aussies are becoming more locked onto the idea that cherries are Christmas.

“They’re delicious, they’re beautiful, they look fantastic as a centrepiece and feature in the best desserts.

“So now it has become a ‘must-do’ thing.”

Mr Riseborough isn’t wrong. Cherries are a “Christmas favourite”, with Coles revealing it is one of the supermarket’s top five selling summer fruits, coming in behind mangoes, berries, bananas and avocados.

Coles chief commercial and sustainability officer Anna Croft said cherries were “flying off the shelves as Australians get into the festive spirit” this year.

“It’s one of the standout favourites in our fresh produce range right now,” she said.

Another detail, of course, is the fruit’s crimson colour, which is also synonymous with the annual holiday.

But growing such a vast quantity of cherries is a “huge undertaking”, Mr Riseborough explained.

“Say we’re picking today, cherries are hand pulled on the farm and then hydrocooled, which locks in the freshness,” he said.

“We’re also using refrigerated transport, but not before each cherry is graded and packed to be sent out to stores.”

Mr Riseborough said he and his brother first began working on the farm as kids, but a lot has changed in the decades since.

“We also export cherries now, which has forced us as growers and packers to innovate into new varieties that are higher quality, as freight transport can affect the fruit’s appearance and taste,” he shared.

“The result is an array of breeds that are really sweet, look great, and are fresh when they arrive, which translates into our domestic sales.”

The supermarket sold 600 tonnes of cherries in the two weeks leading up to December 25 last year. Picture: news.com.au

To keep up during its busy period, CherryHill has to hire additional staff to, providing hundreds of local jobs as well as contributing to the Yarra Valley economy.

Coles said by sourcing locally, it can help reduce “food miles”, and strengthens Australia’s agricultural sector.

For Mr Riseborough, it’s important the business stays true to its roots the Yarra, where his grandfather George planted his first cherry tree in 1940.

“Farming in our family runs back even further, right back to when they came over from England in the 1870s, so it’s in our blood,” he told news.com.au.

“Since then, the farm has expanded over several pieces of land and properties, initially growing cherries and stone fruit, before focusing only on cherries since the early Noughties.

“We can have a longer cherry season than others because we have all the different locations, growing a spread of different varieties to span the season.”

Some have declared CherryHill cherries the ‘best in world’. Picture: news.com.au

The family’s first started growing cherries in 1940 and now solely produces the red stone fruit. Picture: news.com.au

But if you think the family can put their feet up in Spring, you’d be mistaken, as the whole cycle starts all over again.

“We test and evaluate different varieties, and travel around the world to find them,” he said, explaining it can take as long as 10 years to identify a new cherry breed to bring to market.

“One we’re planting now, which will take about seven years to fruit to scale, we started looking at it 15 years ago.

“So it’s a very long, slow, almost generational process.”

It appears the hard work has paid off, with customers sharing rave reviews about the cherries online.

“I bought one of your CherryHill red boxes for 2024 Christmas from my local Coles in Sydney. They were very large, very delicious and kept well in the fridge,” wrote one on Instagram recently.

“Not Christmas in Australia without #cherryhill cherries – best in the world,” wrote another.

This article is part of the Back Australia series, which was supported by Australian Made Campaign, Harvey Norman, Westpac, Bunnings, Coles, TechnologyOne, REA Group, Cadbury, R.M.Williams, Qantas, Vodafone and BHP.

Originally published as ‘Best in world’: Coles data reveals uptick in demand for Aussie item