With consumers spending around a third of their income on eating out, the foodservice sector is an attractive option for produce suppliers, including those in the asparagus sector.
English asparagus growers have two options, according to David Burns, commercial director at Redbridge Caterfresh. Either they can try and compete with the mass market, which is dominated by year-round supply from sources such as Peru, Spain and Mexico, or take the opportunity to highlight the distinctiveness of British product. Certainly all growers should consider the opportunity to diversify into foodservice as an alternative means of survival, he claims.
The world of catering is an ideal route to raising penetration above the current five per cent level and educate consumers in using the product, says Burns. “The consumption level only seems to be making an impact in the niche market - the expensive end, focused on hotels and premium restaurants. But there is a huge correlation between experiences in retail and foodservice. If we can get people to eat it in foodservice we can drive consumption forward in retail.” He highlights the importance of this symbiotic relationship between the two markets in communicating the simplicity and versatility of asparagus as a cooking ingredient.
Producers should be targeting the mass, multi-branded end of the foodservice industry, says Burns. “Asparagus is almost non-existent in the mass end of the market, such as Whitbread and Mitchells and Butlers, where they tend to stick to the typical vegetable selections like peas and carrots. So far the decision has been price driven and due to a lack of marketing, but there are a lot of opportunities for asparagus. You could create whole meals alongside it, use it as an accompaniment to cheese, for example, or as a starter in its own right - put some steamed asparagus on a plate with a little parmesan and you’ve got a great dish.”
Burns says asparagus growers from all over the world will be challenged by increasingly stringent retail specifications. “Retailers are getting tighter and tighter on diameter, with narrow bandings of 4mm. Quality is just as important in the foodservice sector but there is a much bigger opportunity for more flexible grading. If you think that some 30 per cent of the crop doesn’t make the retail spec there must be an opportunity for that part of the crop. In foodservice there is not the same kind of importance on aesthetics that says every spear has to be the same length and a much wider proportion is considered ‘fit to serve’.”
Burns says some Moroccan legume growers have also encountered this situation where 30-40 per cent of the crop does not meet some retailers’ specifications because of a slightly irregular or curled appearance, but with no inherent defects, it is considered acceptable for foodservice.
As the sole asparagus supplier focused on the foodservice sector, Rush Fresh UK Ltd is only too aware of the varied opportunities for the product, according to company director Lisa Sutherland. “Working with some of the largest asparagus growers in the country, Rush Fresh is helping producers maximise income from their entire crop through strategic marketing to foodservice suppliers, catering companies and processors.” She says the company’s customers are in an ideal position to be able to take advantage of the increasing demand for English asparagus, using a range of grades and products, from whole spears for top restaurant service through to cut lengths and frozen puree for premium pies and soups. Rush Fresh is also working alongside the Asparagus Growers’ Association (AGA) and new product development teams to roll out innovative options for the vegetable.
Having found success with a range of prepared produce with accompaniments, such as corn on the cob, Barfoots is continually exploring the potential for asparagus, according to head of supply chain, Peter Atkins. “We have a local restaurant and they roll asparagus in filo pastry, top it in parmesan and just stick it under the grill. There are a lot of opportunities for asparagus - so many basic foods are much improved by adding it, such as asparagus soup, for instance, and I can see no reason why it wouldn’t be possible to create dishes for barbecuing as with other veg.”
The price of asparagus has been a deterrent for a lot of consumers up to now but Burns suggests this could be alleviated. “The price has been artificially inflated because the sizing is so tight,” he says. “But if you broaden the specifications it doesn’t necessarily have to be as expensive - not to the detriment of quality but perhaps broadening the possibilities for size and shape.” Sutherland says Rush Fresh conducts stringent grading operations but agrees that working with the whole crop, as well as operating efficient transport systems enables the company to offer its customers the best value for money.
With more and more people eating out these days, the opportunities for supply have rocketed, says Burns. “The latest figures show that 33p out of every £1 is now spent on eating outside of the home and those eating in want something quick and easy. You have to remember that we are all competing for people’s time. The average housewife or husband has an average of 17 minutes to produce a meal so they are not going to be looking for something like a swede.”
With this in mind, he suggests asparagus growers are in a much more tenable position than other vegetable growers. “I’d much rather be an asparagus grower than a swede grower, not to be derogatory to swede growers. They have looked at the market and are tackling the issue with prepared swede, but asparagus only needs to be chucked in a steamer so it’s already got a lot in its favour.”
Burns is full of praise for the promotional activity undertaken by the AGA. However, he says the product would benefit even further from a form of branding. John Clement of major UK producer Tuddenham Hall agrees that branding could be a positive move but has some reservations about the viability of the concept.
“Along with Hargreaves, my brother and I have been introducing the Jersey Varieties in the US and we can sell it to 57 different countries but it is not marketed as Jersey asparagus. It might be easier to get recognition for the purple variety because that has a much more distinct point of difference with a sweeter taste, but purple asparagus is not really out there yet. I think branding would give asparagus a bigger profile, as has been the case with Jersey Royals, and it would be nice to see the industry get behind asparagus in the same way.”
However Richard Kitchen, of Kitchen Garden Produce, does not think the British product is sufficiently distinctive from imported asparagus to warrant a marque of this nature. “Of course, there is a significant difference between imports and home-grown product but that’s to do with its conditions, not the individual crop and there is no noticeable superiority in terms of variety which will be recognised by the consumer,” he says.
Burns says having one British brand would significantly aid the country’s promotional efforts. “I think more of the main growers should be getting behind the campaign and contributing to the cost structure of the AGA’s campaign if they are serious about developing UK asparagus as a niche product. They should be using the AGA’s resources and the AGA in turn should be using their marketing arms. They need more cash to promote British asparagus as being something really special and branding is a key part of that.”
Following its growing importance in the retail sector, one issue that is set to command much more attention in foodservice is health, according to Burns, for which asparagus is naturally fully compliant. “At Caterfresh all our food safety technology and accreditation is at the stage of actually being stronger than retail. Now we are looking at health accreditation. It’s only a matter of time before foodservice starts seizing the opportunity to talk about health and with no fat, no salt and no sugar asparagus is a real winner.”
With such positive selling points, asparagus growers have a lot to be thankful for, Burns concludes: “The opportunities are all there and if they can’t make a go of it with all that going for them they don’t really deserve to be in business, do they?”
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