Small is beautiful, according to those handling baby vegetables. It is also proving profitable, and growers, importers and retailers alike are talking about a mini-revolution.
Some critics initially derided baby vegetables as a novelty item that offered little value over conventional product. However, they are now having to eat their words as baby vegetables have already achieved a strong following in a relatively short amount of time.
Always quick to spot a trend, a number of retailers are making the most of the recent popularity. Tesco works with 11 baby vegetable growers over a wide geographical spread including Europe, Africa and Asia and is able to supply product year-round. UK growers are also trialling baby leeks and baby courgettes for the supermarket giant.
“While we haven’t taken on any new growers recently, our farms continually strive to maximise yield and efficiency,” says Adrian Lewis, Tesco’s buying manager for baby vegetables.
Lewis notes that baby vegetables are not just a fleeting trend. Indeed, there has been strong demand and growth for a number of years. “This can be attributed to a number of factors including changing consumer tastes, better marketing of the product and successful use of IPM and ecoplus farming to increase yield,” Lewis says.
While organics do not feature heavily in baby vegetable production, Tesco does offer organic babycorn.
Another retailer actively involved on the baby vegetable scene is Asda, which markets a wide range including cauliflower, cabbage, courgette, leek and baby leaf spinach. According to Asda’s Mark Spowart, courgettes are the supermarket’s best seller.
“Volumes are growing year-on-year, but baby vegetables are a relatively new deal for us and the growers so there’s still a lot to learn,” he says.
Asda recognises that there is a lot of innovation in this field and the retailer is currently trialling different varieties of baby vegetables to ensure which ones offer the best flavour.
It is also interested in different ways to market produce. “We currently sell baby cauliflower in a twin-pack but we’re considering selling a four-pack,” Spowart says. “Our aim is to try and get more people to try them.”
Asda sources baby vegetables from three growers based in Kent, Evesham and Norfolk and also imports produce from Spain. It is also running trials with growers in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
“We’re trying to extend the UK supply season and maximise supplies,” Spowart says. “We’re looking at reducing imports and cutting down on food miles making it better for the environment.”
However, price seems to be a sticking point for some consumers. And with a combination pack of broccoli and cauliflower selling for as much as £2.49, some are balking at the higher cost.
Baby vegetable supporters defend the higher prices. “High prices reflect the high cost of production,” Spowart says. “You get much lower yields with baby vegetables than conventional product.”
He further notes that there is less wastage with baby vegetables. “With the mini-courgettes you don’t need to throw anything away, you just put them straight into a saucepan so they’re good for time-poor, cash rich consumers,” Spowart says.
Low prices over the past four years on core vegetables have made the baby range look fairly expensive in comparison, says Nigel Clare, Marshall’s sales and marketing director. However, he believes that with the lower production of core brassicas, there will be a change in mindset and baby vegetables will become more appealing to the consumer.
Supporters further justify the higher prices by noting that smaller families and households generally require less food. Therefore, rather than using half a vegetable and leaving the rest to rot in the fridge, buyers tend to opt for smaller sized and small volume vegetables.
In addition, Lewis says that changing consumer patterns are fuelling demand. “The UK consumer is eating more fruit and vegetables across the board and the importance being placed on living a more healthy lifestyle,” Lewis says. “As a consequence the consumer is looking for more variety.
“Baby vegetables appeal to customers for a number of reasons. They are tastier, sweeter and have better on-plate presentation over conventional core vegetables.”
Martin Evans of Fresh Growers thinks it’s important to highlight baby vegetables as ‘natural convenience foods’.
“Consumers are demanding cleaner, more ethically-grown vegetables and baby vegetables fit the bill as you need the very best practises to grow these lines,” he says.
“They are harvested quicker, don’t absorb as many chemicals and the growing cycle is shorter - in some instances half the time of conventional vegetables.”
Evans concedes that yields are lower but this can be overcome by intensifying production cycles. “However, it’s important not to lose sight of our inherent values of producing great food,” he warns.
Fresh Growers was established in 1999 and its baby vegetable portfolio consists of baby potatoes, Chantenay carrots, baby turnips and swedes. The Nottinghamshire-based firm is also hoping to launch baby parsnips later next year.
Evans reports strong demand for baby potatoes and believes that this is due to the company’s practises. “Our potatoes are grown for flavour and we concentrate heavily on skin finish,” he says. “Our potatoes are harvested and hydrocooled in the same day so they’re at their youngest and freshest and arrive on the market as soon as possible, we don’t rotate or keep stocks.”
Chantenay carrots are also a mainstay of the company’s portfolio and Evans claims that where Fresh Growers leads, others follow. While the firm is proud of its Chantenay carrot operations, it is not always plain sailing. “The variety is very prone to disease,” Evans notes.
Fresh Growers has recently increased capacity at its facilities for Chanteray carrots following continued strong demand. “There was a gap in production between mid-March and mid-May this year due to demand exceeding supply,” says Evans.
Similarly to other growers, Evans believes that the main issues affecting baby vegetables are price and availability. “We mechanically harvest a lot of our baby vegetables so this ensures that we can be reasonably competitive on price,” Evans says. “And with the advances in technology, I’m sure we’ll see more changes over the next 5-10 years.”
Marshalls is another leading baby vegetable grower and produces baby cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, red, white and green cabbage, sprouts, and romanesco. The producer recently added mini-pak choi to its range.
“We like to keep as much control over our baby crops as possible,” Clare says. “This is due to such a small window on size ranges, and if you are not 100 per cent focused on the crop, the losses can be horrific.”
Marshalls grows baby vegetables in the UK and Spain throughout the year. The company’s Spanish operations allows it to smooth out any production issues that might arise in the UK.
It will handle slightly larger volumes this year. “However, this is mainly due to extensions within the range, not consumer purchase increases,” says Clare.
Like other growers, Marshalls is looking at ways to boost its baby vegetable appeal. “We now rig pack baby vegetables which offers a fresher offer combined with reduced handling that we believe offers the consumer better shelf life,” Clare says.
Many growers involved in producing baby vegetables are putting a lot of effort into identifying the best cultivars and this makes the market highly specialised and competitive.
According to Elsom Seeds Tony Hewitt, some varieties are better suited to baby vegetable production. “Smaller compact framed brassica such as Gonzales cabbage has been identified as being of use to baby production, while the swede variety Helenor has attributes which suit baby production such as attractive shape and colour at high density,” he explains.
“Pest and disease pressure may be higher at high density so the varietal resistances must be considered.”
Those involved in baby vegetables agree that they are only at an early stage, but as more companies continue to invest and innovate, they are sure to unearth some gems.
SEALED AND DELIVERING
Bradford-based packaging company Sealed Air Ltd has launched a new form of resealable packaging that it believes will find favour among the baby vegetable market.
The firm claims its ‘easy open’ packaging will cut down on waste, keep products fresh and protect vegetables from being tampered with.
“Easy open has a built-in recloseable feature using pressure sensitive tape to create an easy-open, easy-close package, which provides product containment and protection and has been proved to be easier to use than zips”, a Sealed Air spokesperson notes.
PLANET PRODUCE GOES GA-GA OVER BABY VEG
Foodservice supplier Planet Produce has enjoyed substantial baby vegetable sales over the past two years. “Sales have outstripped procurement on many of the products in our range,” says Simon Beard, exotic sales manager.
“We believe this is only the tip of the iceberg. Customers that used to order once a week now order three or four times. Many are ordering daily.”
Courgettes, carrots, leeks, fennel and turnips have traditionally been the most popular items but there is also good demand for beetroot, cauliflower and butternut squash.
Planet Produce imports baby vegetables from Brittany, in France, and South Africa. Development programmes are currently in place to look at different supply regions, though Beard concedes this is a very labour intensive business and costs are a major consideration.
“Even though baby vegetables appear to be an expensive alternative to traditional vegetables, I believe they can be further enhanced as they become established,” he notes.
HIGH HOPES FOR MINI CUCUMBER
Dutch firm Rijk Zwaan is optimistic its mini cucumbers will attract the attention of UK customers. The company’s first load landed on selected Tesco shelves in early June and if they take off, Rijk Zwaan is hoping that mini cucumbers will be rolled out to all of Tesco’s stores.
“Although it’s still a cucumber, it offers completely new eating possibilities,” claims Jan Doldersum, Rijk Zwaan’s coordinator of international projects. “Its two-bite size makes it very easy to eat on the move and it’s sweeter and drier than a normal long cucumber.”
Doldersum believes that demand for on-the-move, vegetable snacks is growing - good news for both breeders and producers. While he notes that baby vegetables are currently more costly than their conventional counterparts, this could change in the future.
“Niche markets always have higher costs, leading to higher prices,” he says. “It is a matter of scale but as the market grows, prices drop in most cases.”
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