A growing number of producers are expanding their baby vegetable portfolios, and with many suppliers offering year-round lines, supporters are confident further growth is on the horizon.
Baby vegetables are a favourite for convenience and special events, but they are also attracting attention among the general population. John Constable, Elsoms Seeds’ brassica, bulb onion and baby leaf manager, believes that this growth in demand is driven by changes in lifestyle. “We now have less free time as we lead busier lives,” he says. “I think the increase in semi-prepared ingredients and meals lend themselves to the way we live now.”
He predicts that demand will only fall if there is a recession and less disposable money in the economy.
JT Produce uses a wide range of sources to supply its customers. “We handle some English volumes and the quality is very good,” says JT Produce’s Kevin Prentice. “You need to import for 52-week supply though. South Africa is a big supplier and we also handle some baby vegetables from Spain, France and Holland.”
Prentice says baby carrots and leeks attract strong attention, while demand for baby vegetables generally increases in the winter months and when restaurants introduce new menu plans.
Fresh Growers is one UK producer that refuses to rest on its laurels. Having made a name for itself with baby Chantenay carrots, the Nottinghamshire-based company intends to work on some new lines next year and is on course to produce its first volumes of baby parsnips in November. Baby parsnips are grown in the Retford area across several soil systems.
“We’re comfortable that the marketplace is looking for what we’re producing but as with most things, it takes time to develop,” says Fresh Growers’ Martin Evans. “It took one to two years for Chantenay carrots to take off. They were a hit with certain customers straight away but others said they weren’t for them. What’s interesting is that it has become a must have for people who initially didn’t think they’d work.”
According to Fresh Growers, some of its customers have already expressed an interest in baby parsnips, although they inevitably want to see the product before they decide how it will tie in with their other lines.
“Many customers have a marketing strategy that’s working 12 months in advance so they need to build a relationship with the product,” Evans explains. He believes baby parsnips may initially be targeted at the foodservice sector to gauge early reactions.
Although Evans is excited about prospects for baby parsnips, he’s also mindful of the risks involved. He says: “As baby parsnips are such a new product, there’s obviously going to be uncertainties. The only thing that we can be certain of is that the product will be good enough. It was the same when we started off with Chantenay.”
As well as baby parsnips and Chantenay carrots, Fresh Growers is also busy with its freshly dug, new baby potatoes. Harvesting kicked off in June and the season runs until the first frost. Baby potatoes are harvested and hydrocooled on the same day, and according to Evans, Fresh Growers is producing reasonable volumes.
“Skin finish and texture is very important for baby potatoes and at the moment, we’re supplying these to the foodservice sector,” he says.
“Hopefully, we’ll see retail interest next year.”
Marshall’s is another baby and mini vegetable producer that’s keen to make gains. The company recently added mini pak choi to its extensive portfolio.
“Mini pak choi has been a huge success and we are looking at other products at present,” says the company’s Nigel Clare.
The company’s mini vegetable line includes cauliflower, including the Romanesco variety, and turnips. In addition, Marshall’s produces a range of baby vegetables including cauliflower (its best-selling baby vegetable), cabbage and broccoli.
Marshall’s produces baby vegetables in the UK and Spain, offering 12-month continuity on all of its baby and mini lines. The company is also looking at organic production.
Observers agree that over the last year, baby vegetables have gained greater consumer acceptance. Evans says: “Customers are seeing that baby vegetables are living up to their reputation. They are a minimal handling, maximum convenience product. When you talk about baby vegetables, you think of tender, wholesome products. They are less processed and they’re handled quicker. Baby vegetables offer a middle ground between conventional and prepared products.”
The size of baby vegetables, in particular Chantenay carrots, also works in their favour. “Chantenay carrots are ideal for children’s lunchboxes, as they don’t need to be peeled so they retain their nutrients,” Constable says.
Producers readily acknowledge that baby-vegetable production is more labour-intensive compared to conventional production for a number of reasons, including the greater manual handling of baby crops. Significant volumes are also air-freighted from overseas.
While baby vegetables command higher prices, production is not for the faint hearted, Constable says. “If crops naturally lend themselves to baby vegetable production, then that’s fine,” he claims. “But, if you have a crop where you’ve got to increase density of production to achieve specification then you may increase disease pressure. Growers have to be more adept when producing baby vegetables and they’re certainly becoming more so. As that continues, there will be less need for pesticides.”
Weather conditions have certainly had an adverse effect this summer. While the population was basking in July’s heatwave, the month’s scorching temperatures took their toll on plant maturity. According to growers, although some baby vegetables were immature, their appearance told a different story. Growers noted that some products already looked old as they were dug from the ground.
“The warm weather has caused major issues in the continuity of brassica generally but baby brassica production has been greater affected due to the size band being so small,” Clare explains. “With warm day and night-time temperatures, we are seeing some product growing too fast and becoming out of spec within 24 hours.”
Carrots have also been affected by a lack of rain. “Carrots are scavengers and because of the high temperatures, they’ve been going deeper into the soil in search of water,” Evans explains. “This means that summer Chantenay will have a longer appearance than normal. Obviously, we plan for normality, but we do put in many contingencies for sub-normalities too.”
Baby Chantenay carrots are a vital product for Fresh Growers and according to Evans, production is growing year on year. The company believes it’s important to educate consumers and encourage them to be more innovative in their cooking methods. The recent carrot campaign is helping considerably, Evans says.
Meanwhile, retail interest in baby vegetables continues to rise. Tesco stocks a wide range of baby veg including baby cauliflower and broccoli. The supermarket giant began trialling baby leeks and baby courgettes last year and these products are now being stocked year-round. Indeed, according to Chris Evans, buying manager, demand for these products is outstripping supply.
Tesco works with 11 baby vegetable growers and its UK producers are based along the South Coast and in Evesham Vale. They supply the chain’s stores nationwide.
As well as its UK operations, Tesco imports mangetout and babycorn from overseas. The retailer is currently trialling babycorn from India as higher air-freight costs from Africa are taking their toll.
While there is no doubt baby vegetables are a success story, observers believe that more could be done to entice consumers. “New products tend to be based around what the supplier has, rather than what the customer wants and there needs to be more thought about the customer,” says Tesco’s Evans. He believes that one simple change could be to offer a wide range of single, as well as mixed, packs of baby vegetables.
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