As we discovered in last week’s profile, infiltrating exotic products into the consumer consciousness is no mean feat. It requires dedication from the entire supply chain: from the producers who must strive to prolong availability, to the supermarket buyers whose choice of in-store position for a product can have a lasting effect on how it is received.

According to Chris Abram, category manager at Minor, Weir & Willis, given the already restricted uptake of standard exotic produce, the inclination to introduce organic counterparts is minimal at best. “There is very little interest in generating organic exotics,” he says. “That would be a niche of a niche, and getting people to accept exotics at all is the priority at the moment.”

Meanwhile, Margaret Rooke, a representative of the Fairtrade Foundation and major fairtrade importer, Agrofair, says the concept of Fairtrade could have a positive impact on overall exotic sales. “The commercial team at the Fairtrade Foundation suggests that it could help drive additional customers to these categories as the Fairtrade mark is an extra prompt to purchase and to change buying habits.

“The general feeling is that Fairtrade works very effectively for obviously exotic and tropical fresh produce, such as mangoes, pineapples and bananas, from the shopper’s perspective.”

The Fairtrade Foundation claims the biggest advantage for such products is their availability. “There is a very good consistency of supply which means that shoppers are more likely to get into the habit of purchasing them,” Rooke says. The successful uptake of Fairtrade exotics could be in part due to an overlap of consumer profiles, she suggests. “As these are fairly premium products, customers who are either more food-aware or are in wealthier socio-economic groups are presumably more likely to buy them, although recent polls show an interest in Fairtrade across the socio-economic groups.”

Since AgroFair introduced Fairtrade mangoes to the UK market in 2002, sales have risen at an average rate of 57 per cent year-on-year. The company’s Fairtrade pineapples were launched in the same year and are now estimated to account for seven per cent of the total pineapple business. And business is growing significantly, according to Agrofair UK’s director, Duncan White. “AgroFair sells more than 75 per cent of Fairtrade pineapples in the UK, largely from our growers of the supersweet variety - the Asoproagroín co-operative in Costa Rica. When Fairtrade sales began, the Asoproagroín association represented 47 small farms - it now represents 160.”

Given the added cost of procuring sustainable farming, this will naturally act as a barrier to certain sectors of the consumer spectrum. However, according to White, great leaps have been taken to bridge the gap between the items and render them more appealing across the board.

Fairtrade pineapples retail at about 10 per cent above the conventional offer for the equivalent fruit. “From AgroFair’s perspective our aim is to make our sales as competitive in the marketplace as we can so we can increase volumes on behalf of our producer-owners,” says White. “So, in Sainsbury’s our Fairtrade pineapples are selling at £2.49 and the equivalent conventional pineapple of the same large size is selling for £2.29. This indicates the competitive nature of our fruit.”

White highlights, however, that prices are susceptible to fluctuations wrought by the instabilities of the market. “Our aim is to give security of price and security of supply - how close to the conventional market price this is will depend on the market conditions. If there is a shortage, Fairtrade will be the same price. If there is a glut, there will be a higher gap.”

For now efficiency in the supply chain is working in Agrofair’s favour, White says. “At the moment we are quite competitive,” he says. “By going directly from the producer to the supermarket and cutting out as many costs as we can, we give volume and value back to the producer.”

As with standard produce, achieving success in launching a new product is largely down to availability. “How long it takes to establish a Fairtrade fruit depends on whether there is a year-round supply,” White explains. “If there is constant availability, as there is with pineapples, you can start with one producer. Alternatively if the fruit is seasonal as it is with mangoes, we have to slowly build up the number of growers in order to fill the calendar year. It can take up a huge amount of effort to build up a producer base. You can’t offer supermarkets a supply which is there one week and not the next.”

Successful product integration requires a united effort from all fronts, he continues. “It takes a lot of development work, helping with organisation, logistics, and support to bring up capacity, to enable producers to supply the value added European market. We work to transform smallholders who supply local traders into international businessmen so they can get the value of exporting and of supplying directly into supermarkets.” In addition, to introduce an entirely new product category, Agrofair has to work with Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) to ensure Fairtrade standards are in place.

Despite the rigmarole, new products are still hitting the shelves. Malet Azoulay announced this week that it has just received its first Fairtrade lychees from Mozambique.

After two years spent working towards Fairtrade cerification, the Chinhamacunga Association, a group of small farmers in Manica, near the Zimbabwean border, sent the first lychees from their newly-commissioned packhouse on November 25.

Malet Azoulay’s associates, Katopé’s, lychee farms in South Africa have been working with the Chinhamacunga Association to help them establish the demanding production and export criteria required for the UK market. Having achieved Fairtrade certification themselves for lychees this year, the Katope Springfield farm will take over from the Mozambique season to extend Asda’s Fairtrade offer.

Malet Azoulay says its export partner in Mozambique, Vinduzi, has overcome tremendous logistical complexities to ensure the fruit reaches the UK market in top-quality condition. The company’s Fairtrade development manager, Geoff Chappell, has worked closely with Vanduzi and the Fairtrade Foundation to ensure accreditation was achieved in time to support the start of this year’s southern hemisphere lychee season.

John Arnold, of the Fairtrade Foundation, said this step was a testament to the work done by Comic Relief, whose financial support has helped Mozambique’s disadvantaged farmers find a route to market.

The days of seeing a product such as Fairtrade sharonfruit or figs on the supermarket shelves may be some way off, but handlers of standard exotics are increasingly putting their weight behind these fruits. “Sharonfruit is now becoming a world favourite, particularly in the US, with Agrexco bringing in approximately 700 tonnes of the fruit into the UK last year,” says the company’s product manager, Rob Cullum. “Demand is so good that Agrexco is hoping to extend the Israeli season by four weeks, to the end of March, and following on from that, we will be supplying produce from Brazil.”

Cullum says figs have also shown a steady increase over the past four years and Agrexco is able to offer 12-month supply from Israel, Turkey, Peru, Argentina and Brazil. “Popularity is due to the heightened exposure on restaurant menus and cookery programmes, with diverse recipes such as fig with Parma ham, fresh-fig tart, caramelised figs with crème fraiche,” he suggests. While the window was once limited to certain times of the year, having year-round availability is encouraging regular purchase, he explains. Meanwhile, while it is still only a niche product, Pitahaya is showing steady growth. “The reds are used primarily for spectacular decorative use while the yellow is renowned for the best flavour,” says Cullum. “Agrexco is working on varietal changes to improve the flavour of the reds with some success.”

So whether its standard fare or more premium products, exotics is a category experiencing continual rejuvenation, and, with wider availability on all lines, with any luck, market penetration should become easier and easier.

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