Bryan reflects on three fun decades in trade

HOW DID YOU COME TO WORK FOR AGREXCO?

I was a cash and carry manager in my early twenties. The company was taken over and one of our customers got me a job doing a mobile greengrocer round. It was tremendously hard work - around 100 hours a week - but I suppose I got a real taste for fresh produce.

Then I bought my own independent greengrocer shop and worked there until I was 40. By then the future for independents was on the wall and I thought it was time for a change so I answered an ad in FPJ and started looking after Agrexco’s sales from the Manchester office.

WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED MOST ABOUT WORKING IN FRESH PRODUCE?

Fresh produce is what you make of it. You can always get involved and make things happen. It is all very instant. Everything is happening now, not in two or three months, which means you have to make decisions really quickly. There is never a quiet period, with all the products we do, we are selling something every day.

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR DURING YOUR TIME AT AGREXCO?

I have carried out a lot of different roles. I have been national sales manager, and account manager for several products: always on the wholesale side. I love the cut and thrust of the markets. Wholesale is still very important to Agrexco. It was about 90 per cent of the business but now it is about 30 per cent. There’s still a substantial business out there if you treat it properly.

I also do the promotions for the 10 kilo boxes of potatoes, which has become a huge business for us. I would imagine that every restaurant or pub will have had a box of Agrexco washed mids at some point. I’ve always had a flair for promotions. There are not many people that see the benefits of spending money on promotions because it’s something you can’t quantify but in my view you have to keep your brand in the view of your clientele. I would always be looking for something new to do, which is very difficult but I enjoyed it very much.

HOW HAS THE COMPANY CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?

There has been significant growth in the number of product lines, especially as all the new exotics, and herbs has taken off in a big way in the last 15 years. Innovation has always been very important, coming from both the growers and the top, and the company is always looking for new ideas and new ways of doing things.

But at the same time, we are not doing all the lines we used to do. For example, onions and celery. We still do celery but nothing like the volumes we did 20-30 years ago.

The UK set-up is different. When I first started there was an office in Manchester that covered the northern market and one in Vauxhall which covered the south. They’ve since been amalgamated and everything is co-ordinated through the office in Hayes. We only moved to the current office a few years ago but we are already starting to burst at the seams there so maybe it will be time to move again soon.

WHY DO YOU THINK AGREXCO HAS THRIVED AS IT HAS?

Agrexco is a very interesting company to work for. Everyone is very passionate about what they do and for me it is the people that have made it such a great place to work for nearly 30 years. I have got a number of really good friends now, that I’ve known for many years, both in Israel and over here. I think the people are one of the company’s real strengths.

And we have such a wide range of products - 60-odd in total - from flowers and plants to exotics and herbs. And our international business is really growing. We have product coming from South America, South Africa and all over - most of which goes through the UK office.

HOW HAS THE UK OFFICE BECOME SO SUCCESSFUL?

The UK office has been the number one branch outside Tel Aviv for as long as I can remember. When I joined, the turnover was something like £6 million, now it has topped £100m. The UK will continue to be number one because the country has a very concentrated population. The distribution is reasonably simple and we can get product everywhere, every day.

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT OF THE FUTURE FOR AGREXCO AND IMPORTING FRESH PRODUCE?

We are celebrating our 50th anniversary this year so we must be doing something right and I expect the company will keep doing more of the same. We can be competitive and fight our corner if we need to do.

Agrexco Carmel is recognised as a premium brand and known for offering a full range of products and I think that will continue. The wholesale side of things might not be the same but there have been markets for thousands of years so I think they will be around for some time yet.

But you never know, it could all turn around in a few years and people will be wanting markets everywhere. Thinking about food miles is fashionable at the moment but I think there will always be a demand for imported products because now products are available all the time people expect to be able to buy whatever, whenever.

HOW DO YOU INTEND TO FILL YOUR DAYS ONCE YOU HAVE RETIRED?

Working has been my life forever and I feel really blessed that I have been one of those people who wakes up every day happy to be going to the office. But I’m always active so I’m sure I’ll find plenty of things to do. For a start, there are all the jobs that I’ve never got round to doing in the house and garden.

I’m also quite involved in a horse-racing syndicate. We buy fresh horses every season at the start and sell at the end and I go to all the races. It will be great to have more time to spend with the family too.