From Orchard to Bottle: Why British Apples Matter to Bensons
At Bensons, apples have always been at the heart of what we do.
For more than 25 years, our home has been a National Trust farm in Sherborne, Gloucestershire, right in the Cotswolds. It is where the Bensons story began and where our juices are still hand-blended today.
As a family of third-generation farmers turned juicers, we have always cared about where our fruit comes from. We know how much work goes into growing it, which is why supporting British farmers and using great British produce wherever we can is so important to us.
It all starts with the apples
Apples might seem simple, but there is a lot to love about them.
Different varieties bring different flavours, from crisp and sharp to naturally sweet and juicy, and the season changes what is available throughout the year.
We work closely with local apple farmers to source British varieties including Gala, Braeburn and Jonagold. The apples are pressed here in the Cotswolds before the juice comes back to the farm in Sherborne, where we hand blend our juices.
That British apple juice is at the heart of all of our drinks and gives us a brilliant base to pair with other fruits.
Fruit from near and a little further afield
British fruit is a big part of the Bensons story.
Alongside our apples, we use fruit including Herefordshire blackcurrants and Scottish raspberries, choosing ingredients for their flavour and quality.
And when the fruit we want does not grow quite so close to home, we look further afield. That includes Alphonso mangoes from India and Valencia oranges, chosen when they are at their best.
For us, it comes down to one thing: starting with really good fruit.
A little sparkle
Our Sparkling range is another way to enjoy that fruit.
Made with pressed British apple juice, the range is light, refreshing and full of flavour, with four different flavours to choose from:
Cloudy Apple
Crisp, fresh and packed with apple flavour.
Raspberry & Apple
Juicy raspberry with the natural sweetness of apple.
Blackcurrant & Apple
Rich, fruity blackcurrant balanced with pressed apple.
Rhubarb & Apple
A lovely mix of tart rhubarb and sweet British apple.
They come in 330ml slim cans, making them perfect for picnics, lunch on the go, days out or simply keeping chilled in the fridge.
And now, two of them are award winners
We are especially pleased to have a little extra reason to celebrate our Sparkling range this year.
Our Sparkling Rhubarb & Apple has just been awarded Bronze at the Great British Food Awards 2026 in the Soft Drinks category.
The Great British Food Awards celebrate some of the best food and drink produced across the UK, so having our Rhubarb & Apple recognised amongst so many brilliant products, is something we are very proud of.
And it is not the only can in the range to pick up an award.
Our Sparkling Raspberry & Apple also received a Great Taste Award in 2026, another lovely bit of recognition for a drink that starts with pressed British apple juice and lets the fruit take centre stage.
Two different flavours, two awards, and the same simple idea behind both: start with great fruit and do not mess around with it too much.
From orchard to bottle
A lot has changed since Bensons first started making juice more than 25 years ago, but our approach has stayed pretty much the same.
We still care about where our fruit comes from. We still work with British growers. And we still believe that the best drinks begin with ingredients that taste good in the first place.