In 1993, clear glass jars containing tiny red peppers starting appearing on the shelves of UK grocers. At first, few people knew what to do with these piquante peppers, but over the last 20 years the product has amassed a legion of loyal followers and even spawned copycat products. Today the Peppadew brand is worth over €40m and is sold in 20 countries. And now, brand owner Peppadew International is preparing to step things up a gear with a new website, marketing campaign and, more importantly, a brand new range of ambient and chilled products unveiled at IFE.

The man spearheading the push is brand controller Bob Jackson, who was brought on board by the company last year. He had two priorities when he joined. “The brand wasn’t going in a controlled direction, with NPD going all over the place,” he admits, blaming the fact that rapidly growing markets such as the UK, Europe and North America were all overseen from the company’s South African HQ. “We needed to try and get some semblance of co-ordinated movement with the brand, particularly in terms of NPD. We also needed to get closer to the retailers.”

“There is a big opportunity for a range of quality chilled stuffed products in supermarkets”

Bob Jackson, brand controller

The company’s appearance at IFE was the first marker put down in the UK for what will be a new-look Peppadew going forward, says Jackson. “The brand and product quality won’t change. What we’re going to try and do is harness that and make the proposition more invigorating for the trade and consumers.”

A key plank in this new strategy is the innovation the brand unveiled earlier this month. In addition to new stuffed ambient variants, including tuna stuffed peppers and goats cheese stuffed into olives, onions, dates and pumpkins, the company launched a chilled antipasti range.

“We feel that there is a big opportunity for a range of quality chilled stuffed products in the supermarkets,” says Jackson. “The UK market for innovation in antipasti is a long way behind mainland Europe, but all the retailers are looking for innovation. My view is the time is right. It’s death to the olive! We all buy olives, but they’re boring as hell. For drinks and party snacks, I believe that Peppadew in piquante form delivers, so it’s my mission to make Peppadew at least everybody’s second choice to put out when they’re having drinks.”

He’s hoping to secure listings for the new chilled range soon and claims the new ambient products are already attracting interest from buyers. Another opportunity he wants to pursue further is tie-ups with other brands and suppliers. Peppadew peppers are already used on pizzas at Pizza Express and are an optional sandwich topping at Greggs, and Jackson is currently in talks with a number of other suppliers.

“You could say that until now we’ve been dormant, but we’ve made a step change,” he says. “We’ve now put the investment into our growing and manufacturing to make sure that our new products are of a good enough quality to take the Peppadew branding.”

Jackson’s aim is to have a presence in every part of the supermarket. “The vision would be that in three years’ time, whatever part of the store you go to, there will either be a wholly owned Peppadew product in the chilled, ambient and frozen sections, or Peppadew will be an added-value partner in products like crisps, cheese, soups and salads.”

Peppadew popcorn, anyone?

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