Baby vegetables have a higher price tag than conventional products, but they have proven popular in fine dining establishments and the foodservice sector. Baby vegetables have established a following among time-strapped, cash-rich consumers, allowing them to forego the fiddly preparation stage and eat nutritious, fresh vegetables in minutes.
However, the current economic downturn has seen the popularity of baby vegetables decline this year, with airfreighted produce the hardest hit, says David Ibbotson, director of produce for Pauleys Fresh Produce. “Many caterers and chefs have been looking to review their product purchases to bring them more in line with cheaper, seasonal British vegetables, which have strong provenance,” he tells FPJ. “I was with some fine dining chefs this week and all of them, without being prompted, said they wanted seasonal, British fresh produce.”
Christine Forder, lead buyer for Compass Group UK & Ireland, agrees. “Provenance is a key trend among our clients and they are asking us for UK-grown produce,” she says. The firm uses baby vegetables in its fine dining business, Restaurant Associates, as well as in its sports, leisure and hospitality business. “The types of baby vegetables we use include carrots, leeks, courgettes, turnips and beetroot,” says Forder.
Home-grown baby carrots are said to be performing particularly well. Asda received its first consignment of UK baby carrots from MH Poskitt in late May. The Yorkshire-based firm uses various growing methods aimed at starting the season earlier and ending it later, and began supplying Asda two weeks earlier than normal. MH Poskitt began growing baby carrots for Asda in 2008, but this will be the firm’s first full season.
According to managing director Guy Poskitt, demand for baby carrots has been stable. “Baby carrots are a niche item, but you must not ignore them,” he tells FPJ.
The fact that these carrots are locally grown also works in their favour. Not only is the carbon footprint reduced, but Poskitt says the quality and skin finish for local carrots is better than imported.
Inevitably, baby carrots are more expensive than conventional product, as inputs are higher. “Baby carrots are hand picked, hand listed and hand packed - it is very difficult to bring down the cost when so much labour is involved,” Poskitt says.
While some consumers are cutting back on luxuries as they tighten their belts, the recession is not hitting everyone and some consumers still have money to spend, says Poskitt. “It is important to serve up a product for everyone,” he explains. “There are opportunities and once the recession is over, more people will have more income.”
Chantenay carrot sales are also holding up well, says Martin Evans, managing director of Freshgro. He tells FPJ that he was concerned around late December 2008 that sales of more aspirational foods would suffer but, fortunately, for the most part that has not been the case.
“Chantenay carrots taste good and are good value for money,” says Evans. “Yes, they are more expensive than conventional carrots but they are not expensive compared to mangetout and other luxury vegetables.”
The last season was challenging as growers battled with adverse weather conditions, but Evans says that the sector has worked hard to maintain good faith and achieve a good, sustainable price for growers. “Our campaign is doing well, but we need to go further with public recognition; it is a case of altering the value perception and hopefully we will see the message spread further,” he tells FPJ.
Freshgro has enjoyed reasonable success in France for Chantenay and the producer is looking overseas to other markets, such as Scandinavia and Germany. “It is important that we broaden our horizons and establish a better European base,” Evans says.
Promotional work has impacted positively on some baby vegetable sub-categories, including Chantenay carrots, says John Constable, brassica, bulb onion and baby leaf manager for Elsoms Seeds. He points out that this variety has undergone key changes over the last decade. “In the mid-1980s, Chantenay was mainly used in the canning sector but then canning demand declined - within a decade, Chantenay seed became very difficult to source, but now industry sales are doing well again,” he says.
Freshgro will also be venturing into the prepared sector and will launch pre-packed Chantenay in the autumn. The carrots will be cut lengthways into 5mm slices as the sector looks to extend the product base and win over new customers. “It is very important for vegetable producers to move with the times and as more consumers are following the US example and are eating more food as snacks, we need to capture market share in this sector,” Evans explains.
In order to do this, he says the carrot sector needs to offer a high-quality product with a good shelf life. Furthermore, supply issues need to be ironed out. Evans says that, eventually, snack carrots could be sold in petrol stations.
As well as Chantenay, Freshgro is also excited about prospects for baby parsnips. This will be the second season that the producer has grown baby parsnips and it will work with Sainsbury’s once again. “We won’t necessarily have higher volumes as there has been a shortage of seeds, but as we employ different production methods, that could alter the tonnage,” Evans says.
Freshgro also plans to launch baby swedes in the autumn. “These swedes have an edible skin so customers do not need to peel them - all they need to do is quarter and cook them,” Evans says. “We have worked hard on this product and it has got good prospects.”
As with most things in life, timing is everything. Evans tells FPJ that if the new swede were launched last year when consumers were looking to make savings on their food bills, it could have been a high-risk venture.
It is common knowledge that fewer people are eating out during the recession, but fresh produce sales have generally remained robust and Constable argues that consumers are looking to make more interesting meals with unusual ingredients.
Elsoms Seeds is conducting trials on a wide range of species that could be suitable for use as baby vegetables, including brassicas, root vegetables and alliums. The firm is looking at key vegetable varieties that are not too vigorous during the growing stage, including cauliflower with fewer outer leaves. “We will be carrying out work in our autumn trials and seeing what looks most promising,” says Constable. “We are always looking to maintain and increase sales; if a variety comes up that has strong potential, we want to ensure the variety is utilised fully and performs as well as possible.”
Promoting baby vegetables in interesting and appealing ways, as well as emphasising farm-assured production and highlighting regional specialities, could spur interest in these challenging times, says Ibbotson. Indeed, he says demand for British produce across the spectrum is growing. “Farm-assured British produce is of great interest to our customers and we have used provenance to great effect on menus and point-of-sale material,” says Ibbotson. “I have not been asked about Kenyan-sourced baby corn and beans, etc, in the last 12 months.”
Ibbotson says there has been little change in supply sources for baby vegetables over the last two years. There have been some varietal introductions, but these have not changed the buying patterns of foodservice customers. He also forecasts a challenging path for baby vegetable imports and argues that high transport costs and the carbon footprint represent key hurdles. “Imported baby vegetables will remain a fairly niche product, although there could well be growth in British-grown products at the higher end of the foodservice scale,” Ibbotson predicts.
Forder agrees that the provenance trend is important and that fresh produce will be increasingly selected based on its country of origin and seasonality. “Baby vegetables are a specialist product, although they are very popular in fine dining and in sports and leisure hospitality,” she adds.
Marketers predict that the changing retail scene may also create opportunities. According to Constable, there has been a change in the status quo among retailers over the last two years. “Supermarkets still want to tempt people into their shops and baby vegetables are a good way to encourage sales as they can offer a point of difference,” he says. “Those supermarkets that have increased their market share during the economic difficulties are going to want to retain customers.”
Constable is confident that there will always be a market for the baby vegetable sector. “Whether sales will be less than they were or even increase after the economic downturn is up for discussion,” he says. “Certainly, it is an interesting sector, although it does not drive breeding activities forward particularly. But it is still an area that has potential.”
SOLID BABY BUSINESS FOR JT PRODUCE
JT Produce is based in New Spitalfields Market and claims to be the largest wholesaler of baby vegetables there.
The firm handles a wide range of baby vegetables including carrots, fennel, turnips, leeks, pattypan squash, courgettes, red beetroot and golden beetroot.
It is currently selling carrots from the UK and importing small volumes from South Africa. “Quality has been good this season,” says Kevin Prentice, exotics manager. “British baby vegetables are only available for six months a year so of course, when they are around, we try to get good sales and returns for growers.”
Prentice says that baby vegetable sales at this time of year shift slightly as restaurants change their menus. However, he says that the firm is still selling a reasonable amount.
Like others in the sector, Prentice says that the recession has not hit sales significantly. “Restaurants that want baby vegetables are still buying and serving them; for some it is their trademark,” he tells FPJ.
Prentice says that South Africa is a consistent supplier and, barring the occasional hiccup because of weather and germination, the country provides baby vegetables year round. Baby vegetables are also coming in from Guatemala and Central America, in addition to occasional cartons from Ethiopia.
“I’m surprised more Dutch and other European producers don’t produce more baby vegetables,” Prentice says. “If they did, it could bring down prices and create more opportunities.”
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