This year couldn’t have started worse for the UK pea industry with the news that Birds Eye was cancelling the contracts of up to 180 growers in Norfolk and Suffolk following the withdrawal of an Italian export deal.
The move, which was estimated to have cost growers over £5 million in lost income, was a bitter blow at a time when growers had been feeling more optimistic about their future prospects. Particularly galling was the fact that growers were only informed about the decision weeks before they were due to sow the 2010 crop.
“The problem was the lateness of the decision - it meant some growers were rushing to diversify into other crops such as barley and potatoes,” explains Tim Mudge, commercial manager of PVGA.
The Birds Eye situation is the latest in a string of challenges to face the sector in recent times. These have included unfavourable weather conditions during the growing and harvesting periods, the ability to source good quality labour, rising production costs and ongoing price pressure in the supply chain.
Nevertheless suppliers are confident they can disperse the clouds hanging over the industry. “Last year’s sales of broad beans and peas remained strong and the retailers always get behind the sale of British produce, so there is no reason why sales will not continue upwards,” says Chris Butler, commercial director for vegetables for Mack Multiples.
At least better weather in recent weeks has meant growers are having fewer battles with the conditions than in previous years. Crops were sown into good conditions and progress has continued well, ensuring that the industry is on track, says Chris Goodliff, vegetable category technical manager for Manor Fresh.
Most crop harvesting has started about seven to 10 days later than normal but Goodliff says the recent warmer weather means that the developing and maturing crop is growing at the rate expected at this time of year.
Butler adds that though early indications pointed to a delay of up to seven days, Mack’s pea crop was ready to harvest in line with an average year and broad bean crops were only delayed by about four days.
The total area devoted to broad beans is slightly lower than previous years, while the area of runner beans and green beans remains largely similar.
“Quality is very good at the moment, which should continue, providing the weather conditions are favourable,” says Goodliff.
Vining pea volumes are expected to drop this season due to challenging market conditions. “Pea production was large in 2009 and as a lot of the crop is frozen, this obviously means that it lasts longer,” Mudge explains.
“Because of this, lots of growers have had to take lower prices and tonnages - we’re hoping that this rectification now means that the market will return to balance.”
Non-traditional lines
One interesting development is the rising production of more non-traditional legumes such as UK sugar snap peas. “We’re seeing lines which would more traditionally be imported now being grown in the UK during the summer,” says Butler.
However, he adds that runner bean sales have been a concern over the last couple of years and the industry needs to work harder to remind the consumer “how great the British runner bean really is”.
In recent years, the number of new pea and bean varieties has grown. Popular varieties include the runner bean variety Aintree and the pea varieties Prelado and Bingo for early and late season use respectively. “Key attributes of the new varieties have related to improved performance in packable yield or disease resistance, but eating quality and a variety’s capability to extend the British season are also proving important,” Goodliff explains.
Butler adds that the processing industry is trialling a number of high yielding types which he suspects will begin to appear more widely over the coming years.
Peterborough-based Processors and Growers Organisation (PGRO) is looking at development opportunities for the British broad bean crop. The company has funding from the HDC for broad bean varietal trials and is looking at a range of broad beans suitable for fresh production and freezing.
Listra is the main variety for freezing and PGRO will be evaluating other varieties, focusing on yields, colour and whether a certain variety has a good seed to pod ratio. “It may well be that there’s a range of different maturities and we’ll look to compare and see where each variety will fit into the early and late timings,” says Anthony Biddle, technical director.
Goodliff thinks that the sector will look to develop varieties and growing systems that will accommodate a greater use of mechanisation and also maximise the length of the UK season. “This is a big challenge, but if achieved, it will enable UK peas and beans to remain competitive, resulting in solid sales performance, especially with the continued support of an active PR campaign and proactive retailer promotional activity,” he adds.
Marketing
Indeed rising consumer awareness, the versatility of peas and beans, and in-store promotional activity by the retailers should mean that the industry is in a good position to perform well, says Goodliff.
Emphasising the taste, seasonality, versatility and freshness of British beans and peas is at the core of the Tastes of Summer campaign. Run by Pam Lloyd PR, the campaign will continue to encourage consumers to incorporate beans and peas into recipe dishes and will also look at using peas and beans as simple side dishes.
“Anecdotal research suggests that some consumers are still confused as to how to prepare these products and what to do with them,” says Pam Lloyd. “The campaign works to address this and usage suggestions must be simple and cost effective.”
Lloyd says that the retail sector can work with the campaign to make beans and peas more accessible and to highlight how they should be prepared and cooked. “Our message is about making beans and peas simple - they are time intensive compared to opening a bag of frozen peas - therefore the campaign, the retailers and marketers must work together to emphasise taste, seasonality and freshness.”
Promotional recipes include summer bean, pea and feta salad and are intended to provide inspiration for feeding the whole family with British beans and peas. Chefs such as Sophie Grigson, Nigella Lawson and Nigel Slater also share their memories and fondness for peas and beans and features have already appeared in a wide range of consumer titles including The Times, BBC Good Food and Homes & Gardens.
“We achieve an incredible amount of coverage with limited resources and a simple, targeted consumer media relations campaign,” says Lloyd.
Manor Fresh, which targets the retail sector, hopes the backing of the Tastes of Summer campaign will help it increase UK pea and bean volumes this year. “With good quality product and an active PR campaign, consumer awareness of peas and beans is being raised,” Goodliff says. “Hopefully, this will result in an uplift in demand and therefore sales for this year.”
Meanwhile the main focus of this year’s Yes Peas! frozen pea campaign is recipes, reveals Caroline Kenyon of Kenyon Communications. The campaign will continue focusing on families and Kenyon says recipes work in the print media as a “fantastically inspiring and informative tool”, encouraging the consumer to use frozen peas as an ingredient.
Both Tastes of Summer and Yes Peas! are also hoping that the internet will provide a boost. The website tastesofsummer.co.uk has been updated for the new season and according to Lloyd, traffic to the website is up 16 per cent compared to the same period in 2009.
Yes Peas! is continuing with its HTML newsletter, or ‘pea-letter’, with Kenyon pointing out the database of recipients has trebled in 18 months and traffic to the peas.org website is up by 40 per cent. “Yes Peas! has set itself key performance indicators for 2010 and its targets include increasing website traffic, newsletter database numbers, and Facebook fans,” she says.
Kenyon points out that before the Yes peas! campaign began in 2003, pea consumption was in decline. However, the situation has turned around and the sector has enjoyed volume growth over the last two years.
Activity has been varied over the years and includes linking up with baby charity Tommy’s, participating in the Lord Mayor’s Show and publishing the world’s first-ever pea recipe books, of which more than a quarter of a million copies have been distributed.
“Pea consumption continues to grow, and indeed Kantar Worldpanel data showed a 2.7 per cent increase last year,” Kenyon says, while Mudge adds there has also been a change in consumers’ perception of peas. “Rather than just being an accompaniment to a meal and something to have with fish and chips, they’re an ingredient,” he says. “Peas are very versatile and can be used in recipes such as curries, kedgeree, stir fries etc.”
As to how the pea category will evolve, Mudge hopes that the industry will adapt to the challenges that the next few years have in store.
“Consolidation is going on at all levels from growers to supermarkets and we will continue to try to increase demand with the Yes Peas! campaign.”
And producers are certainly confident that there’s room for growth. “There are definitely more British peas and beans on the shelves which is down to a combination of increased consumer demand and excellent promotional activity through the industry campaigns,” says Butler.
The industry has had some major setbacks, but as long as consumers remain on board and keep buying the products, there is every chance for a rosy future.
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