Our History

My family have been farming for three generations. Back in 2002 on a family visit to my parent’s fruit farm in Lanchester, Northumberland, I happened to taste some apple juice my father had just made; he had simply pressed the apples in a traditional way.  The juice was fresh, fruity and more importantly it was natural; nothing had been added.  Although we thought the juice was great we needed to see if others thought the same so several barrels were taken to the WOMAD festival. Suffice to say it had all sold out long before the end of the festival. That was it; Bensons was created.

Bensons is situated on an old country estate owned by the National Trust right in the heart of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire. We continue to make our totally fruity juice in the traditional way using the finest English apples.  To make one 75cl bottle of juice we press 15 apples using a simple process that has been around for centuries. After mastering the art of making our lovely juice we decided to freeze a quantity to make natural iced lollies after trying in vain to find a healthy iced lolly for children in shops. The experiment worked and in 2006 we launched our range of refreshing Chilly Billy iced lollies.

We are very proud of our juice and iced lollies because not only do they taste great, they are made without any added sugar, water, additives or preservatives and are not from concentrates; the simply pressed fruit gives a totally fruity taste. What is more, the entire range of Bensons totally fruity juices and iced lollies are also suitable for diabetics.

We follow a simple philosophy which is at the heart of everything we do:  “to promote a better understanding between the food we consume and England’s rural landscape”. We do this by

·          using only the finest seasonal English apples

·         making quality healthy products using English apples for the whole family to enjoy

·        supporting rural society; we employ people from the local community and we source our apples from regional and national orchard owners  

The juice and iced lollies are available to buy in a range of exciting varieties at stockists throughout the UK including National Trust properties, Nandos and Pizza Hut restaurants, The Tate Galleries as well as farmers markets, delis, pubs and restaurants.