Due to their characteristic sweet–tart flavour and high vitamin and antioxidant content, raspberries are among the most widely cultivated and consumed berries worldwide. British Columbia (BC) is Canada’s primary raspberry‑producing province, producing three quarters of Canada’s raspberries. However, in recent years the BC raspberry industry has faced increasing competition from imported fruit. This competitive pressure has contributed to a decline in domestic cultivation and threatens the long‑term sustainability of local production. 

Revitalizing the BC raspberry sector depends on the development of improved, more competitive cultivars that better meet consumer preferences. While BC is home to an internationally recognized raspberry breeding program, the development of new cultivars is a lengthy and resource‑intensive process, typically requiring approximately 15 years. Breeding programs must grow and evaluate thousands of plants annually, making it particularly challenging to improve complex traits that are highly valued by consumers like flavour and aroma. These traits are difficult to assess at early breeding stages and currently rely on time‑consuming and costly sensory evaluations once plants begin producing fruit. 

This project aims to accelerate the development of superior raspberry cultivars by identifying the genetic basis of fruit aroma. Using advanced metabolomic and genomic approaches combined with sophisticated sensory analyses, the project will identify the key aroma compounds that contribute to pleasant raspberry aromas, as well as the genes that control the presence and abundance of these compounds. This knowledge will enable the development of genetic markers that breeders can use to screen thousands of raspberry plants at the seedling stage, allowing aroma potential to be predicted more than a year before fruit production begins. 

By enabling early, accurate selection for these traits, the project will greatly enhance breeding efficiency and facilitate the development of raspberry cultivars with improved aroma and consumer appeal. The availability of more competitive, high‑quality raspberry cultivars will benefit BC farmers by increasing productivity, supporting local employment and reducing reliance on imported fruit, strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of the provincial raspberry industry.