Charity rescuing even more produce with innovative new smoothie
Felix working in partnership with growers and manufacturers extending the life of surplus berries and carrots that may otherwise have gone to waste.
Published 5 October 2026
A food rescue charity is showing what can be done when you combine a manufacturer with growers who have tonnes of surplus fruit and vegetables.
Felix (formerly FareShare and The Felix Project), is the UK’s leading food rescue charity. It works with supermarkets, restaurants, wholesalers, manufacturers and farmers to rescue, repurpose and share surplus food that would otherwise go to waste.
It has worked with B.fresh, BerryWorld and Strawsons to create a small batch of smoothies from surplus berries and carrots that may otherwise have gone to waste.
A team from Felix visited BerryWorld and B.fresh and identified opportunities at both sites. From there a trial was agreed and after that proved successful a run of 20,000 bottles of Berry Heroes Smoothies have been created.
We work with growers across the UK and are really passionate about sustainability and reducing food waste. We already donate surplus produce to Felix and since 2020 have given around 800 tonnes or the equivalent of around 2M meals. However, some berries are unsuitable for donation and we have been keen to find another way to put them to good use. The idea of turning them into a drink was perfect and so this opportunity came at a perfect time for us.
— Emma Henry at BerryWorld
Strawsons grow a variety of vegetables and combinable crops and donate to Felix were then asked to get involved with the project, Gemma Williams, Supply Chain Manager from Strawsons adds:
For the last four years we have been working with Felix and have been really pleased to know our surplus is getting to people instead of going to waste or into anaerobic digestion. We have supplied carrots for juicing in the past and so were very happy to see them being used in this way again. They are an important extra ingredient for the smoothies adding more flavour and depth. It is exciting to know that this is yet another way of ensuring we can reduce food waste.
The trial has been led by the Felix innovations team, who are always looking for new ways to rescue more surplus and funded by Alliance Food Sourcing (AFS), a coalition of over 50 leading food companies, convened by Felix and the Institute of Grocery Distributors (IGD). Over eight tonnes of produce have been rescued in the making of the smoothies and it has allowed B.fresh to support AFS and Felix in a new way.
AFS is designed to unlock harder to reach surplus food from the manufacturing sector, it also works with partners to identify alternative ways they could support. Jake Davenport, Commercial Manager at B.fresh said:
B.fresh was started as a way to reduce waste after a hailstorm spoilt our spinach crop. Despite its aesthetic damage, the spinach remained highly nutritious, inspiring us to turn it into juice. Earlier this year Felix approached us to see if we could help them with production. Given our shared commitment to creating sustainable solutions alongside PDM Produce, we were delighted to collaborate. This partnership is amazing and we have even got other companies involved, both Eclipse Labels and Source Design have played an integral role in creating this drink. We are so pleased with the results and the fact it is helping to prevent even more perfectly edible food from going to waste.
The smoothie, which has a shelf life of around 2–3 weeks, is now being distributed by Felix across the UK. Emma White, Commercial Manager at Felix said:
This project is an amazing example of how Felix is innovating to ensure more produce is being rescued. The ingredients we have used were perfectly good to eat, but unsuitable for redistribution and so would have gone to waste. Instead, they are being used in this smoothie, which is a healthy, nutritious product ideal for the children and families we and our network support. This small batch is showing us what is possible when we work together. I hope we can encourage more growers and manufacturers to work in partnership, so we have more products like this to help those experiencing food insecurity.