In 2019 fruit supplier AC Goatham & Son launched its exclusive apple variety Flanders Gold, named after one of the company’s farms in Kent, with the aim of taking on branded apple varieties such as Pink Lady.

However, reports now suggest that despite the variety’s name obtaining trademark status, it has had to be renamed Reveille after the threat of legal action by Apple and Pear Australia Limited (Apal), the owners of the Pink Lady variety.

Despite repeated requests by reporters for a comment, Apal has refused to respond to the story. However, it is not the first time that Australian growers have threatened legal action against British brands. Earlier this year Stirling Distillery had to rebrand its Pink Lady Gin – named after a local ghost – at a cost of £5,000 after legal action by Apal.

Celebrity chef Rick Stein recently criticised Pink Lady apples, saying: “There is so much knowledge, love and history in apples and all we seem to be able to do is go to a supermarket and pick-up Pink Ladies. They’re grown for a long shelf life, and in vast orchards. I’ve been to a Pink Lady orchard near Adelaide which was a bit soul-destroying, really.”