Strawberries at £2.50 shows we’re not creaming off profits, say Wimbledon organisers
The price of strawberries and cream at Wimbledon proves the Championships is not elitist, the tournament’s boss has said.
The All England Club has defied inflation and the rising cost of production by keeping the cost of a punnet at £2.50 for the twelfth year in a row.
So central is the quintessentially English dessert to Wimbledon’s brand that organisers are willing to forgo a significant profit margin so that it remains accessible, it is understood.
Sally Bolton, the chief executive, said: “Like every other business, our costs are increasing across the board, so we’re having to balance that challenge.
“As much as we can, we’re trying not to pass that on to the customer.”
“One of the most iconic parts of our food and drink offer, strawberries, are kept at £2.50 and have been now since 2010, so we’ve retained those at an accessible price despite input prices going up.”
Serving up freshness
With 10 to a punnet, the strawberries are grown less than 40 miles away, at Hugh Lowe Farm, in Kent.
With harvesting starting at 5am during the championships, some of the produce is eaten on the same day it is picked.
On average, 8,615 punnets are consumed per day with 28,000 kg eaten over the tournament, served with over 7,000 litres of fresh cream.
When asked whether the All England has faced any difficulties with food supplies this year, she added: “We haven’t and part of the reason we haven’t is because over recent years we’ve been moving very distinctly towards as much local sourcing as we can – so very much focused on UK food – but we can’t get all of the things that we serve at the Championships from a 10-mile radius.
“The driver for that wasn’t about supply chain originally, it was actually about supporting UK producers and reducing our environmental footprint, but actually that served us well in a situation where supply chains have been challenging.”
The relatively cheap price of strawberries and cream is not replicated across Wimbledon’s other well-known food and beverage options.
Tennis goers were paying £21 for two glasses of Pimms.
Michelle Patrick, from Glasgow, told The Telegraph: “It was a bit of a shock. This is going to be our only Pimms of the day.
“The last time I was here it was ten years ago, so this year was more expensive than that, but generally it was a little more expensive than I expected.”
Ms Bolton said higher prices, including for tickets, reflect the “standing” of the event, but pointed to the return of the famous Wimbledon queue for the first time since Covid.
“It is there to give people access to an event on this scale in the day by queueing up and we’re the only major event to do that.
“We’re absolutely focused on setting prices that reflect the standing of our event but also makes them accessible.”
