When Norman Collett was founded in 1977, it was as a direct sales business to UK wholesale markets, covering every market trading at that time.Founded on behalf of a number of dedicated growers, the key trading attribute was the promotion of ‘English-grown’ quality product.Under the leadership of John Bardsley, this group of growers founded the group Mid Kent Growers (MKG), which remains the backbone of supply to Norman Collett as a whole.
From those early days, continued investment by the company’s growers and diversification into new varieties has seen notable growth within the division, served not only by an expanded MKG grower base, but also by a number of independent growers. In recent years, an element of imported stonefruit and soft fruit has extended the trading season and, with the acquisition of Metrofruit in May this year, the division will see further expansion of its offer.
“Customer requirements have changed over the 30 years of trading, although regional requirements have remained unchanged - larger fruit suits the northern markets, for instance,” explains Sarah Calcutt, Collett’s business development manager.“Quality requirements have improved, as wholesale markets are no longer the place to dump sub-standard produce. However, the profit opportunities have improved accordingly through the gravitation towards fresh service industries and the hotel trade by many of Collett’s customers.”
Today, the sales team based at Paddock Wood consists of Mac McGrath, John Howgego and Andy Warner, with a combined service within the trade of more than 100 years.
“The combination of experience, ongoing grower development, a nationwide delivery service, the ability to offer composite pallets, flexibility of supply base and the general pro-British produce movement, emphasise the positive outlook for the continued development of the wholesale sector, from farm shops to large multi-national customers,” adds Calcutt.
John Leason Ltd
John Leason has been dealing with Mac McGrath on the wholesale team at Collett’s for 26 years - first in his father and uncle’s company HS Leason & Sons Ltd, and for the last six years with his own firm, John Leason Ltd.
“Collett’s has always had produce for wholesale, whereas a lot of companies are totally supermarket-oriented,” he says. “But Collett’s has two definite sides to its business.”
John Leason Ltd sources top fruit and other lines when available from the Kentish firm, and has stocks of Bramley available 12 months of the year. Its main clients are independent retailers.
“What is good about Collett’s is that, as well as procuring produce specifically for wholesale and looking after their customers, it is obvious they really care about the growers they source from,” says Leason. “Clearly that is important and you need all three in the chain - the growers, middlemen and wholesalers.”
Tony Toach & Sons
Justin Toach, director of Tony Toach & Sons, has worked with Collett’s for 10 years, sourcing top fruit, soft fruit and stonefruit from the Kentish firm.
Toach’s parents were retailers in the Leicester area and Tony Toach & Sons was set up 18 years ago. The wholesale business sells fruit, vegetables and salad lines to independent retailers, greengrocers and farm shops in the region. The firm also performs its own deliveries.
As the only independent wholesaler in Leicester Market to stock fruit from Collett’s, Toach is proud of the relationship the two sides have built up.
“We have a good relationship with Collett’s,” he explains. “We have got to know each other well as we have been dealing with the same people for a long time now and they have come to know the quality of fruit that we like to source.
“More and more of our customers are looking for English produce, especially the farm shops, so our relationship with Norman Collett is becoming even more important.”
Cruising into top gear at Mack
Trading with Norman Collett for the past 10 years, Mack Southampton has seen radical changes to the scope of its enterprise in that time.
As a result of its location, its customer base differs greatly from most traditional wholesalers, as do its produce requirement.
The major growth area over the last five to six years has been with the cruise ship industry; in particular Carnival UK, which also has its head office in Southampton. The town is the home to the cruise ship industry in the UK and is one of the busiest ports across Europe. Mack supplied all the fresh produce for the maiden voyages of the Queen Mary and Queen Victoria and these contracts continue to be a key part of the customer portfolio.
Over the years, Mack Southampton’s reputation for quality produce has grown and it now supplies nearly every cruise ship that docks in Southampton. All ships require the delivery of a very exact, specialist shopping list when they are in port - a simple idea, but when you consider that each ship can order more than 200 lines with varying ripeness requirements and there is always a chance that bad weather at sea could delay arrival, it keeps the replenishment team on their toes. It also means that tried and trusted suppliers who offer guaranteed quality and delivery times are essential.
Having proved successful in produce supply, the cruise ships then asked the Mack team to look into the broader field of ships’ chandlery and it is now commonplace for the team to supply such diverse goods as Colombian coffee, Parmesan cheese, Red Bull drinks and even cat litter. Faced with a need for refrigeration, as well as frozen and ambient storage, Mack moved all this section of its trade into a new facility called Aurora, which has four different temperature-holding chambers and covers 25,000sqft. This also offers a consolidation service for other suppliers to the cruise ships to limit the number of individual deliveries to the dock.
“While exciting and new, this is still only part of our customer portfolio,” says Lawrence Scott, divisional director. “Another thriving area that also has its own bespoke facility is the Channel Islands.” Here, Mack Southampton directly serves many customers on the two main islands, from supermarkets to hotels, as well as the only shop on Sark, which uses a horse-drawn carriage to get its fruit from the boat.
Scott remains optimistic in the face of current economic troubles. He says: “Our core customers, who are mainly based on the South Coast, continue to defy the economic doom and gloom and continue to thrive.”
A common theme running throughout all of Mack Southampton’s customers is that, if given the chance, they would prefer to buy quality British product over imported lines.
Norman Collett’s Sarah Calcutt says: “The key words running through our discussions about the Mack business were quality and continuity. With their customers, they are not afraid to innovate and will give any new lines a try. Relationships, such as the one with Collett’s, are key to this drive and innovation in their business, offering high quality with delivery guarantees.”
BFS fosters fair relationships
Having celebratedtheir 50th year of trading in 2007, Bristol Fruit Sales (BFS) is moving forward in a period of growth and recognition, which has included winning Fresh Produce Wholesaler of the Year at the 2009 Re:fresh Awards.
To receive such recognition was a proud achievement for a company with such humble beginnings, but one that joint managing directors Steve PayneandNick Matthews are extremely keen to build on.
Innovation is driving business development for BFS with the establishment of a stable of Growfair initiatives, including the highly successful Pride of Cornwall brand. Growfair is a premium brand delivering the finest locally grown fresh produce throughout the year, which customers can relate to as being authentically grown within their county.
As an overarching brand, Growfair supports an expanding portfolio of products and fosters ethical win-win relationships with local vegetable, fruit and salad growers. In return for their commitment, a fair and consistentprice is given.Particularly attractive to the foodservice element of the BFS business, this guarantee of provenance and quality fits the nation’s drive for more information on where their food comes from.
Investment in infrastructure has also been key in their confidence to take risks in new markets; a branded fleet delivers all orders and extensive improvements in storage and handling facilities has meant that quality standards have been achieved to open new markets. There has also been investment in hand-held accounting, and stock management systems have meant that administrative times have been halved and stock information is up to date at all times during the trading period.
Trading with Norman Collett for the last 15 years, the company’s supply has been built on a gradual development of lines, starting with Cox apples and now encompassing the whole range of English top, stonefruit and soft fruit offered by the Collett’s team.
Key to this good business relationship is the close link to the grower, enabling top-fruit account manager Gavin Madle to gain greater knowledge of quality and a level of guarantee for key customers, building a following for particulargrowers. “Prices have risen in recent years and therefore our customers have come to expect the best quality,” says Madle. “Working with the Collett’s team for all these years means that they understand our business and what our customers require.”
G&M Growers Focuses on Strong links
G&M Growers started life as a potato merchant, and has since transformed into a wholesale business offering a mix of fruit and vegetables. The firm is based in Upper Caldecote in Bedfordshire and also operates a farm shop.
Dave Metcalfe, whose family set up the business, has been in charge for 35 years. Nobby Newman, who runs the company’s wholesale activities, has been with the firm for 16 years.
Collett’s is G&M Growers’ largest English fruit supplier. The relationship started five years ago, with small volumes of English top fruit supplied to G&M Growers following an approach from Colletts. “We seemed to just get on,” explains Newman. “The relationship developed and we started to source more English top fruit. I have a very strong relationship with Mac from Colletts.
“We have got to the point where he knows the quality of fruit we are after and the sizes of fruit we require - generally, the kind of fruit we like to sell.
“Our customers enjoy Kentish apples and last year the fruit came through really well for us. We had the right quality mixed with reasonable prices,” adds Newman.
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