New research has revealed an emerging group of bright young stars in the fresh produce industry.

According to a study by Plimsoll Publishing, there are 477 companies that are increasing sales at twice the average of the rest of the industry and achieving an average growth of 30.7 per cent.

Over the last two years, growth in the market has been sporadic, averaging only 5.5 per cent two years ago, and 4.1 per cent last year. However, the 477 companies identified in the report managed to increase sales last year by a minimum of eight per cent and Plimsoll is tipping them to take control of the market as 2006 gets under way.

The research looked at 1,500 companies and found 445 were suffering the consequences of their higher achieving competitors. Collectively, these companies saw sales fall by around 14.4 per cent in the same period.

David Pattison, senior analyst, said: “This is absolute evidence of how most of the growth in the market is going to a select group of companies.”

So what have these companies been doing to create this growth? Pattison said the answer is not clear: “For me it’s evidence that the market is changing as the revenue and growth streams of even five years ago are not same as for 2006. Frankly it’s the one question that we all want to know the answer to; sadly there is no magic bullet.

“These 477 winning companies seem to know some of the answers and they are telling us all something about the future direction of the market.”

However, he said, there is strong evidence that this is not simply a case of larger companies forcing smaller companies out of the market. There is still growth amongst the smaller companies, although it clearly has less effect on the overall market.”