Marketing - Fresh produce

Direct delivery launched

Direct delivery of potatoes by post has been launched by Cheshire prepacker Jepson Potatoes from its packhouse in Holmes Chapel. Consumers are being offered a 10kg carton of white or red eye varieties delivered by ANC within 72 hours or less. Next month will extend the range to include a vegetable pack comprising 5kg of potatoes, 1.5kg each of parsnips and carrots, three onions, a swede and a green vegetable, currently a cabbage. The price of £8 (including £2 postage) has been fixed for a year. General manager Bob Oldham said that the initial response target in the north had been good, although with the scheme only running for a week there had yet to be any repeat orders. In the long term, he expects to expand sales countrywide.

Enza/Geest joint venture provides new opportunities

The merger between Geest Worldwide Fruit and Enza Fruit UK next January to form Enza Worldwide will allow the group to harness a wide range of produce, particularly from Chile. The New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board has a substantial shareholding in Chiquita-Enza Chile, a major exporting group, according to Alasdair Robertson. Next January, when the Enza office in London closes and moves to Spalding in Lincolnshire, Robertson will take on the role of ceo of the £100m group, backed by commercial directors Paul Cassinos and Roger Growcott. He foresaw a further development of children’s packs on a wider range of fruit using the Warner Brother’s Looney Tunes cartoon characters licensed to the NZAPMB. Robertson dismisses trade rumours that the merger was brought about by a spate of poor NZ prices, forthcoming deregulation and difficulties in its apple industry. “Discussions went on for a long time and we considered approaches from several other companies,” he said. “Seasonal supply relations with key UK retail customers currently enjoyed by many importers and distributors will soon be a thing of the past. “We will be offering multiples a 12 month procurement capability backed with real expertise category management. “It must be profitable, cost efficient and include the full range of services.” Robertson sees Geest’s apple and pear business in France, Italy and North America as complementary to the New Zealand summer season. Geest also accounts for about 40% of UK annual avocado sales and has strong European stone fruit connections. A technical base will be retained in Gillingham, Kent, to keep in close touch with fruit arrivals through Sheerness, and to quality control facilities, mainly in Kent, designated by retail customers.

Growers join SAS

Five of the UK’s leading vegetable and salad producers and packers, both conventional and organic, have formed marketing partnership SAS Fresh Produce to work with Sainsbury. Group chairman of Strategic Assured Suppliers is Mervyn Negus of Watton Produce, and the other members are Bedfordshire Growers, Huntapac Produce, the Moulton Bulb Co and United Vegetables. Between them they account for over 18,000 acres of crops and have all supplied Sainsbury for over 20 years with root veg, onions, brassicas, prepared vegetables, leafy salads and organics. Richard Diplock joined as commercial manager in April from Humber VHB. Negus said: “As well as a complementary diversification of crops, the group also benefits from having a wide geographical split, both across the UK and worldwide, which ensures supply throughout the year. This offers opportunities for promoting Sainsbury’s regionality objectives.”

Receivers in at GMS

One of the UK’s largest vegetable organisations, Grower Marketing Services, has called in administrative receivers after two years of trading losses and a lack of funding. It is believed that parts of the business are considered profitable and that the administrators are seeking buyers. GMS has packhouses in Pershore, Cheltenham, Oxford, Cardiff and Cornwall as well as interests in Spain, allowing it to pack and market a wide range of crops year round. It was the UK’s largest grower owned fresh produce co-operative until 1998, when it became a private company.

Kriel warns over lack of strong brands

Major industry figure Louis Kriel, consultant to the South African grape growers’ Orange River Produce Alliance, has told exporters and distributors at a trade conference that the fruit trade is weakened because it has few really strong brands. “Most consumer products are bought, not sold, and a brand is key to survival in the shift from a buyer’s to a seller’s market.” None of the produce brands have achieved the worldwide recognition of manufactured goods brands, he claimed. Fruit and vegetable prices had dropped 14% in the last decade and as a result most growers and supermarkets were living dangerously, said Kriel. “It is interesting to note that the two British supermarkets that have experienced financial difficulties in the last five years were those that ignored brands and insisted on using their own.” l The Cape grape season may not start in the Orange River as early as expected due to cool weather conditions, although the delay should not have a major effect on Christmas arrivals. This is due to increased volumes of seedless varieties from this earliest area, which has already given it a major role with UK supermarkets.