A company with a long and detailed history, Bristol Fruit Sales (BFS) has changed with the times more than most in the wholesale industry. Owners have come and gone, takeovers have been implemented, but the basic ethos of the company has remained the same and the focus is consistently on offering choice to the customer. BFS has always been allowed to run independently, preserving its individuality and appeal to an ever-widening customer base.
Now owning some 48 per cent of the units on Bristol’s Wholesale Fruit Centre through its parent company Total Produce, it would be very easy for BFS to turn the wholesale market into a monopoly, with businesses offering the same kind of produce and brands. But diversity and consistency are paramount, say joint managing directors Nick Matthews and Steve Payne.
“One of the secrets of our success is that we have allowed all three businesses under our banner [BFS, Total Produce and Redbridge] to trade independently, with their own names, and encouraged them to continue the personal relationships they have with their customers, using their brands and the produce they offer,” explains Matthews. “This offers the customer choice; we would certainly get a good deal of complaints if we put the Total Produce banner up on every unit and made the offer the same. We try to work together more with the back office, but we encourage competition between the companies front of house.”
This consistency in business practice is emphasised by the many Re:fresh awards that BFS has won over the years. As well as last year’s win, the company has in the past picked up Overall Trader of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Matthews’ father, David Matthews.
Payne believes that entering awards and publicity in general is a route that wholesale companies have to go down now to create a sustainable future for the business. “The fact that we operate from a marketplace is immaterial,” he says. “It is just a base and does not mean we can’t offer as good a service or availability as anyone else. Our facilities in Bristol are as good as any. The majority of the produce comes to the market directly from growers, with no middlemen involved. This means customers get the opportunity to buy very fresh produce at the best price and availability.
“The wholesale industry needs to advertise these credentials. Through Re:fresh and other industry awards, we have really seen doors open for us. We now supply other wholesalers throughout the country and send direct from source, buying and selling produce without touching it. We have definitely become more competitive.”
Matthews agrees. “Wholesalers have been shy of the public for a long while because liaising with consumers was always seen as their customers’ - the greengrocers and independent retailers - role,” he says. “But it is clear now that we all need to work together. We have some very successful greengrocers in this region and we can prove that they have full traceability.”
Bristol Fruit Sales Market Ltd prides itself on being a forward-thinking wholesale company and has many strings to its bow. On Bristol’s Wholesale Fruit Centre, its reach encompasses BFS Direct, its distribution arm that delivers everything directly from the market; Total Produce, which handles prepared and conventional produce; Redbridge, which acts as a traditional wholesaler; and Redbridge Catering, which handles the School Fruit & Vegetable Scheme (SFVS) contract, as well as serving school canteens and hospitals.
“The SFVS is very regular and works very well for the company,” says Payne. “We are on the approved list for hospitals in the region to work with, which takes a lot of work regarding proving traceability and so on. We have been supplying hospitals for more than 20 years, but I would like to see more control over the system. The approved list is only a recommendation and in theory, hospital management could choose to source from a man in a van with no accreditation, if it so wished. Ultimately, our produce could become mixed up with a company’s that isn’t on the list, which would reflect badly on us.”
BFS has not been immune to the recession and both Matthews and Payne agree that it has been a tough 12 months. They soon found out that the fresh produce industry was not as recession-proof as people once thought. “We have had to streamline and cuts have had to be made,” says Matthews. “But staff have been supportive and we are now in a good position to take the business forward for the next 12 months.”
According to Payne, the first half of 2009 went to plan, but then signs that the promised “barbecue summer” would not happen and consumers eating out less began to take their toll. “Companies can very easily become scared in a recession and stop investing,” he says. “It is very easy to panic, but we haven’t and are going forward in the same way we have ever done. This attitude is more than paying off; considering we are in the midst of economic uncertainty, we have had a reasonable year. We will continue to push the business forward as we have always done.”
LOCAL THINKING WORKS A TREAT FOR BFS
The complete traceability and freshness of our products at BFS is a story that is not told enough, says David Foster, sales director at BFS.
Eating good-quality, local fresh produce is beneficial for health reasons and good for the British economy. You just have to look at the support we have got for Growfair - our brand that focuses on local sourcing. It has been a great success and there is a lot of mileage left to go in it.
A couple of years ago, all people were concerned with was organic, but now if you give the choice between organic produce from Scotland and a local offer from down the road, local wins every time.
This has been one of the positive effects of the recession. When recessionary times hit, people want to support the community. What is a shame is that the public does not really understand what goes on in a wholesale market, and does not even know about them. Growing in the UK isn’t just a job; it is your life. But awareness is growing and the economic climate has forced the public’s awareness.
There is a passion behind Growfair and we really believe in it. Hopefully, that comes across to the customer and influences choice. The farming industry has a massive opportunity to re-establish itself.
AWARD-WINNING ATTITUDES ABOUND
Winning the Re:fresh award lets us know that we are going in the right direction and means delivering good-quality produce consistently, along with good customer service, says Bristol’s Redbridge branch manager Phil Nichols, who has worked on the South West city’s wholesale market for 21 years.
We pride ourselves in taking care of the smaller customers, as well as the larger ones, and we make sure we can offer the whole product range.
It has been interesting to see how catering suppliers have reduced their orders during the recession, when at one point catering was seen as the only way forward for the wholesale markets. The greengrocers we serve that have not been eroded by the supermarkets are very profitable and are all working hard. The old adage applies that the strongest will survive; the greengrocers work six days a week and it really does take strength of character.
But last year was really hard and we had to look at costs across all the businesses. We are now more streamlined as a result and the team is really enthusiastic; there is more work to do and people are really fired up about the job. This has resulted in further sales, and I don’t think that is the case for other companies on the Wholesale Fruit Centre.
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