Dried fruit is back in fashion

All good things come to an end, so the saying goes, but not for longstanding dried fruit and date brand Eat Me, which is being “brought back from the dead” by two fresh produce firms looking to enter the lucrative snack market.

Pop Worldwide, a joint venture between former AG Thames business unit director Danny Francis and Worldwide Fruit, has signed a contract with brand owner and French dried fruit specialist Maitre Prunille, to import the new extended range into the UK. Univeg also has rights to the brand in the UK and is supplying the original glovebox dates into Tesco and Morrisons, while the new range has won a recent listing in Asda directly via Maitre Prunille.

Although the brand lost momentum around 15 years ago, it never left retail shelves and Francis says brand awareness remains strong and, coupled with the potential in the dried fruit and nut category, believes there is potential to reignite sales.

In total, the newly-extended range comprises nine lines of dried fruit and nuts: five soft fruits (apricot, prune, fig, dates and orchard mix); two nuts (cashew and almond); and two nutty fruit mixes in 40g pack sizes. With produce primarily sourced from Turkey, all products are made in France and rehydrated, in the case of apricots, to 35 per cent water.

“I see it primarily as a snack-market product,” says Francis. “Healthy snacks are seeing huge amounts of growth and there are lots of opportunities in this market. Long-term, I definitely think it has a future in retail but at the moment it is a three-pronged attack into wholesale, cash and carry, and convenience.”

The first volumes of Eat Me products marketed by Pop Worldwide are currently being sold through New Covent Garden wholesaler Newman’s, as well as two firms at New Spitalfields, and Francis has other partnerships in the pipeline to enable expansion into convenience formats.

Newman’s salesman Dom Houlahan says so far most interest has been from high-end delicatessens. “We’ve had lots of interest, mainly from high-end delis, but have struggled initially with the display packaging. The old-fashioned greengrocers are less interested.”

Unworried about a typical teething issue with a new brand, Francis says new packaging with a display window is already being used to sell the product in other markets, and following feedback from wholesalers this will be soon be used in the UK.

Univeg’s commercial manager for dried fruit, dates and nuts, Christophe Bayard, says the wholesale sector could offer “quick wins” for the Eat Me brand, as the markets are traditionally ignored by larger dried fruit and nuts importers. “On wholesale it’s also easier to develop new things, compared to the major retailers where most new projects, even with budget and resources, take up to 18 months,” he adds.

Univeg, which is managing the development into retail, is building the brand around the original date packs, which currently feature both new and old logos, with the new range featuring the new branding. “What Eat Me will bring to the category is its very high quality, it’s a healthy snack and it’s pleasant to eat. Other dried fruit brands position themselves in ingredients and home baking, whereas we see this as much closer to produce and as a healthy snack,” Bayard adds.

“The long-term vision is to take some market share from the sweet and confectionery market, which is worth millions,” Francis continues. “Dried fruit is hugely underdeveloped so there is a big opportunity there. Brands are powerful in wholesale because people like to know that they’re going to get consistency, so for that reason quality is absolutely paramount.”

With health-conscious consumers actively looking for alternatives to sweets, chocolate and crisps to stave off hunger during the day, the opportunities for produce companies to capitalise on the snack market have never been more exciting, and Eat Me is well placed to lead the way.

Get your dates right

• Eat Me has been around in the UK market for around 25 years as the recognisable glovebox tray of dates.
• Developed by French dried fruit specialist Maitre Prunille in the 1960s, Eat Me is also present in the French, Chinese, German, Dutch, Belgian, UAE and Saudi Arabian markets
• The new range includes apricot, prune, fig, dates, orchard mix, cashew, almond, and two nutty fruit mixes in the smaller 40g pack sizes