It Is a long jump from the Mitchell brothers of Queen Vic and Albert Square fame to the Kent countryside, but there is another set of Mitchell brothers who are playing a pivotal role in the dramas of the top-fruit industry, albeit without the criminal undertones, bad acting or dodgy cockney rhyming slang.
Top fruit runs in the blood for Ian and Robert Mitchell, who are third generation fruit farmers, having taken on the business their grandfather began at Foxbury Farm back in 1909.
“The fact we’re the third generation of apple growers I think is an achievement, for any industry,” says Robert. “We’re looking forward to celebrating our 100th anniversary year soon, and we’re very proud that it’s still a family business.”
The business has certainly stood the test of time, but with pressures growing, it is certainly a tough industry, as both brothers agree.
Ian says: “I think the trading environment has got harsher and that has meant that we’ve had to get better. We’re producing better quality apples and we’re providing a better level of service.”
But that has been at a cost, he says, as the pressure on price shows no sign of letting up. “Generally we’re being asked to do a lot for - in many cases - less.”
Despite this, the business is looking strong, thanks to the foundations laid down by the brother’s grandfather’s foresight and willingness to innovate.
“Our grandfather did two important things when he started up the business,” says Robert. “Firstly he selected Bramley as a good commercial variety and secondly he was one of the pioneers of controlled atmosphere storage.”
That investment early into CA technology helped pave the way for the business, and now the brothers are supplying Bramley apples for 12 months of the year. “This year will be truly 12 months of Bramley, we’ll run straight through,” says Ian.
While the main business of the farm is Bramley, producing 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes of the apple a year, the brothers also have an interest in other top fruit, including around 1,000t of conference pears a year and 200t of Egremont Russett, all produced on around 200 hectares of orchards.
However, Bramley is key: “It has driven this business,” Ian says, and its main strength, he adds, is in the fact that while it is a single purpose apple, created for cooking, it has multi-market potential. “It can be marketed both as fresh and processed, but it is important to maintain that supply year round.”
Robert adds: “Our supermarket and processing customers come to us because we can offer that continuity of supply, and that’s the bedrock of the business.”
The knowledge and experience of Bramley that Ian has accumulated over his years in the business makes him the natural choice for chairman of the Bramley Apple Campaign.
He’s been in the position since the campaign first got underway in 1990 (check): “I’ve got 15 years of experience of that under my belt,” he says.
The campaign is going well and has excellent grower support he says: “Of course we have to keep it going for 12 months of the year, but in some respect that makes it easier as we don’t have to keep picking it up cold.”
He says a big push at the moment is to get leading food writers to start using Bramley instead of other apples in their recipes. “We know Bramley is better so we’re just trying to get the message across. We’re having a lot of success with that, which isn’t difficult because Bramley is simply the best for cooking.”
Another ongoing drive of the campaign is to encourage the processing sector to choose Bramley over cheaper imported apples, and he says that brings the sector back round to the importance of availability.
“It just highlights how important it is that we have continuity of supply. We can’t encourage people to put Bramley into their products then not come up with the goods.”
And availability is something the industry is getting good at, he says: “There have been a couple of years when supply got tight, but on the whole the industry did what it could to make sure product was a available. You can’t control nature, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure we’re getting continuity of supply.”
Bramley aside, both brothers are heavily involved in promoting the English apple industry. Ian is a founding director of English Apples & Pears, one of the last of the original few, and is a strong supporter of its work: “It does do a lot for the industry and I think it’s important that we do have a trade association.”
He says the organisation, and particularly its promotional committee, gives the industry the opportunity to get together and discuss the best ways to support its product and work together.
Meanwhile Robert has also been involved with the National Fruit Show. “I’ve been chairman for around five years now and that takes up quite a bit of my time,” he says.
He says the show is an important event for the sector: “If you’re involved in the top-fruit industry in any way, then the show brings it all under the one umbrella.”
The event continues to go from strength to strength: “We’ve been successful in securing sponsorship, and that’s meant we’ve raised our game. We’ve also started taking the best of the British crop off to a public site. Last year it was Kew Gardens and this year it will be Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, and that’s been hugely successful.”
Both brothers went to Wye College, the University of London, and both had some overseas experience before joining the family business. Ian went to Chile for a year and says: “I didn’t work in top fruit, I was looking at other crops, but any experience at that time of your life is invaluable.”
Robert went to New Zealand and says the experience has given him a life long love of foreign travel.
He has put that to good use with his involvement in Concordia: “I’m chairman there and we’re the leading operator of the home office SAWS scheme.”
He says despite that changes within the EU, Concordia has continued to maintain a strong link with the new EU members and brings in around 12,500 students every year to work on UK farms, helping to meet a significant proportion of the sector’s needs for seasonal labour.
Concordia is now looking even further afield to countries such as Belarus, Georgia and Moldovia, racking up more air miles for Robert. “I find it fascinating and love visiting foreign countries. We’re forging new relationships, but also strengthening existing ones with countries like Poland.
“We’re maintaining our links with the newer EU members, I think we provide such a unique service that they continue to want to come to us.”
Robert is also interested in new technology, perhaps a trait inherited from his forward thinking grandfather.
“We’re under huge price pressure all the time, so I am interested in any new production techniques that can offer improved yield and reduce the need for expensive inputs, which can allow us to operate in a more competitive environment.”
There is certainly no getting away from the fact it is a tough market, and Ian feels that English fruit is not being given its due. “We have to emphasise that English apples have a superior taste characteristic.
“I don’t think growers are being rewarded sufficiently for the value of the product that they’re supplying and it’s in danger of become undervalued.
“We’re all up for a challenge, but there does come a point when you have to recognise that a product is worth more.”
He says it is not in the consumers interest if supply cannot be sustained due to low prices.
Another key factor the industry needs to ensure is good communication, says Robert: “That’s got to be a theme that runs through all the things we do - there’s little use fruit growers beavering away and doing an excellent job and not telling anyone about it.”
Ian agrees its important to maximise sales: “Retailers don’t give English fruit enough shelf space, but we’re trying to communicate more with them, so they know the volumes we’ve got and the shelf space required.”
There is a greater emphasis being placed on English, says Robert, and that’s being driven by consumer demand. “They’re starting to take an interest in whether products are local and how they are produced. Everybody is getting behind English product and the reason is that consumers are asking for it, and they’ll continue to ask for it if the products quality is right.”
But consumer demand needs to be fed, says Ian: “Consumers say they do want these things, but sales can be driven by many things, and they need to have exposure at the point of sale. If we don’t tell retailers what’s going on, they’ll miss out.”
Despite the difficulties, the Mitchells believe the sector is in fine health and with an expected good season for the year ahead, both brothers remain very positive. Ian said: “I think there are some very good prospects ahead for growth.”
And there is one thing for sure, the Mitchells will be at the forefront as the expansion takes shape.
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