FRUIT growers have had it tough but they are not rolling over and accepting their fate, as two growers from Kent will demonstrate at the National Fruit Show at the Kent County Showground, Detling.

Clive Baxter, whose family has grown apples near Maidstone for generations, and Nicholas Moor, whose family has had orchards near Faversham for three generations, have realised that new markets are needed if they are to survive and pass on their livelihoods to future generations.

Clive Baxter has taken a novel approach and developed a way to put logos and designs onto apples as they ripen. Nicholas Moor, perhaps a little more traditionally, has developed an exclusive range of organic single variety apple juices for the top end of the London hotel and restaurant market.

Mr Moor said: "I have been organic since 1999 and was finding that about 20 per cent of our crop was not suitable for the supermarket chains. I had to find another way to make ends meet. The apple juice market is crowded, but there seemed to be a gap for single variety organic apple juices."

The Moors now produce eight different varieties of organic apple juice from a very sharp Bramley to a sweeter Cox. The juices are sold in more than 80 establishments in London including Harvey Nichols and Mossimans.

A completely different approach has been taken by Clive Baxter. Taking an idea from Japan, the apple is completely covered with a special bag called a Japanese Apple Bag and the fruit develops a uniform green colour without blemish. A week or so before ripening the bags are removed and the apple takes on a pinkish colour. It is at this stage that a stencil can be placed on the apple and the logo created.

"It took a while to perfect the technique and now we produce some 40,000 apples with various logos and designs," said Clive Baxter.

Designer apples are now supplied to a number of supermarkets and prove extremely popular around Halloween and Valentine’s Day. He also produces apples for weddings and large companies and trade associations.

Mr Baxter said: "The process is quite labour intensive and to date we have been determined by the seasons. However, demand for these designer apples is very high and we are currently in discussions with growers in South Africa to enable us to provide fruit all year round."

Both Clive Baxter and his designer apples and Nicholas Moor and his single variety fruit juices can be found at the National Fruit Show, October 20 and 21 at the Kent County Showground, Detling.

The show attracts more than 2,000 companies and exhibitors from across the industry and is sponsored by Tesco.

It also hosts a competition to find the country’s best fruit juice. The winning juices will be found on the South East England Development Agency’s (SEEDA) stand which will be highlighting new technology and alternative products to assist growers find and capitalise on new markets.

Jilly Goolden, of the BBC’s Food and Drink show, will also be visiting the show to pass comment and judgment on this year’s produce and juices.