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Spanish brand BoomBites claims to have brought a UK-first ‘superfruit’ to British supermarkets with the launch of its Red Berry Grapes, now available in Marks and Spencers stores.

The BoomBites Red Berry Grapes are claimed to taste like ‘the very best table grapes’ but with a deep, juicy red pulp on the inside, similar to that of a berry or cherry.

Their unique red pulp is packed with antioxidants known as anthocyanins – the powerhouse polyphenols that give goji berries, blueberries and cranberries their ‘superfood’ reputation. They are associated with health benefits such as improvements in cholesterol levels, vascular function and the gut microbiome.

BoomBites said the Red Berry Grapes have comparable antioxidant levels to blueberries, describing them as an ‘incredibly versatile new superfruit’.

The grapes are a natural cross between table grapes, which traditionally have white flesh on the inside, and old grape varieties that have red flesh fruit and were traditionally only used for wine production.

BoomBites said it took ‘thousands’ of different combinations of small and soft, red-fleshed wine grapes with large, sweet and crunchy seedless table grapes to produce the new Red Berry Grapes.

It described the resulting product as offering ‘the premium feel of a high-end food and beverage category, and the health credentials of a superfruit’.

As well as anthocyanins, the grapes also include resveratrol, another naturally occurring polyphenol found in various fruits including grapes, blueberries, raspberries and peanuts. It is known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. According to BoomBites, researchers at the University of Murcia found that the Red Berry Grapes had three times more resveratrol than blueberries when tested.

Additionally, a study has suggested that the grapes’ natural sugars are absorbed more slowly than traditional grape varieties, as well as delivering higher levels of antioxidant polyphenols.

Research from the technology center AINIA in Valencia, Spain, suggests that despite having similar amounts of fructose, the new Red Berry Grape varieties showed significantly lower glucose uptakes than standard varieties.

Dietician and member of the Red Berry Grape Advisory Board, Nichola Ludlam-Raine, commented: “In simple terms, this means that while new Red Berry Grapes are sweet to the taste, the combination of phenols they contain alters the way these sugars are transported and absorbed in the gut.”

“This has major implications for weight control, insulin response and dietary advice around fruit consumption, because we know that many consumers restrict intakes of these fruits rich in antioxidants because of concerns about the amount of sugar in fruit.”

Punnets of the new BoomBites Red Berry Grapes are now on sale in M&S stores nationwide for a limited time.