Andre's son Thierry took over the business in 1990 and saw an opportunity to expand production and sell further afield. This was the start of a remarkable success story. Since attending his first international trade exhibition in the UK in 2000, Thierry Vandererfven hasn’t looked back. His premium quality products — from royal marmalades and jams to fruit syrups, sauces and vinegars – are highly sought-after in exclusive department stores in 20 countries and are personally requested by royalty and nobility.

As Thierry well knows, the secret to excellent preserves is top quality fruit. A wide variety of only the freshest, unblemished fruit is sourced year-round from across the globe, fully processed in-house and carefully crafted according to traditional methods. Small batches of fruit, fine sugars, juice and natural apple pectin (to set the jams where necessary) are boiled in copper urns over an open gas flame and preserved in the time-honoured way without artificial flavourants or preservatives. This ensures the fresh aromas and exquisite flavours of the ripe fruit are retained in a naturally beautifully, luxurious finish. “The core of what we do is the preservation of fruit,” says Thierry. “Hereditas fructus in posterium.”

Belberry Preserves is both a traditional and innovative brand. Far from the stuffiness its name might imply, the brand name is actually a play on “Belgian berry”. The refreshingly young but established “feel” of the brand is carried through in exotic flavours such as Morillo Cherry, Seville Orange, Mango & Maracuja, Rhubarb and Strawberry, Figs & Port and the delicious but still-experimental figs and chocolate.

Belberry Royal Marmalade, an imaginative assortment of eight citrus-based marmalades, derives its name both from the supreme quality of the fruit and the royal stamp of approval. It has become a tradition that every time Thierry develops a new marmalade, a sample is sent to Queen Paola of Belgium (who is known to love marmalade) for approval. One day Thierry received a call from the Queen’s personal assistant to say that the monarch was delighted with the taste of his products. Since then Belberry Preserves regularly supplies the Belgian monarchy. As befits a royal product, Belberry is also a multiple winner of Tavola and other Fine Food Awards.

While production is small and still done by hand — only 3,000 jars are produced per day — an efficient marketing and distribution channel ensures that these premium products are flown to exclusive department stores across the European Union as well as further afield to America, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan. Elite clients include the finest department stores all over the world. Thierry’s products also aptly fly First Class, as luxury food items on the in-flight menu of several airlines. With the company expanding at an astonishing 70% a year, Belberry Preserves is clearly making strong inroads into the luxury food market.

Following the 2005 trade mission to Japan led by Prince Philippe of Belgium, Thierry and a Japanese partner launched Belberry’s own pilot concept store in midtown Tokyo, which is strategically placed to showcase the brand for the growing Asian market. This store is also an opportunity to promote Belberry’s newer product lines such as sugar-free jams, as well as fruit vinegars, dessert sauces (including three old fashioned syrups: Sweet Elderberry, Canadian Cranberry and Wild Blueberry) which are proving increasingly popular.

Attention to quality at all levels of production — from sourcing the freshest and finest fruits and sugars to innovative flavours and products through to a highly efficient marketing and distribution channel — ensures customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. With premium quality as Belberry’s recipe for success, it’s hardly surprising that customers such as the Emir of Qatar, who regularly visits his hunting lodge in the Belgian Ardennes forests, annually request their own personal supply