Fresca Group is planning to move into British top fruit as part of a major push on home-grown production.
The Kent-based business admitted in its annual review last week that it had “lost a little of the magic” when it came to supplying British fruit to supermarkets, but has implemented a new strategy to make the Mack name “synonymous with UK fruit”.
The company highlighted its expanding soft-fruit business, its work on cherries and stonefruit, and commercial trials of UK apricots and melons, as examples of its burgeoning domestic production.
“We intend to add British top fruit back into our product offer, and we’re rediscovering our passion and drive for marketing the best that Britain can offer,” the report said.
Elsewhere Fresca revealed a turnaround performance at Thanet Earth Marketing. The Kent glasshouse project, which last year posted a £4.4 million operating loss, recorded a £900,000 profit this time around, a figure executive chairman Christopher Mack described as “remarkable”.
The company put the result down to the leadership of new MD Ian Craig and the dedication of staff at the site.
In an upbeat report, Fresca announced that turnover for the year to 29 April 2011 increased 6.9 per cent to £389.5m, with pre-tax profits rising from £4.9m in 2010 to £7.3m.
Proclaiming a “new era” at Fresca, Mack said the company had undertaken an internal review to identify priorities and new opportunities and this had led to the creation of a three-year strategy addressing everything from facilities and support capacity to its customer mix and product direction.
“The process has been designed to help us make our business more proactive and intuitive, less reactionary and more clearly planned in advance,” Mack said.
Other new developments include Project Compass - a review of Fresca’s IT systems - and a £350,000 investment in refurbishing and equipping its Southampton high-care facility, which has doubled its capacity and will bring cost savings.
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