Stubbins has not only recognised the need to redirect its efforts and re-analyse its options, to achieve its goals it has spent the last 18 months driving through its policy to have direct control of all elements of the growing, packing and importing supply chain.
As well as excelling in the packing and importing spheres, as illustrated by its Re:fresh successes, salads-specialist Stubbins has its own production areas in the UK, Sicily and Spain, and partnerships established in the Netherlands, Poland, and other front-line salad producing nations, as well as a well-oiled logistics operation and a multilingual, highly experienced team at head office and out in the field.
Until 18 months ago, the majority of the volume being supplied to the UK market by the multi-faceted, family-owned company was dominated by two major supermarkets. “We had invested heavily in our packhouse facility, installed state-of-the-art machinery and created significant new capacity, and that gave us the opportunity to expand the business through new customers,” says Turone.
As well as expanding its UK retail customer base, Stubbins has moved into the foodservice arena (see box), increased its flexibility and perfected its just-in-time capabilities to the extent that it achieved excellent service levels last year. “We feel that we are more customer and consumer-focused than ever before and this has been key to our recent progress,” Turone says.
“We have vertically integrated our business to better utilise raw materials and now have a highly efficient operational structure to handle product and reduce costs. A key strategic advantage is that we grow, wash, grade and pack much of our own production. We take raw material straight from the glasshouse and transform it into the finished article for a wider range of customers.”
A strong emphasis has been placed on better utilisation of the company’s assets. All Stubbins’ UK sites, have packing facilities, as have many of its wholly-owned and partner sites overseas, says Turone, but the decision has been taken to largely pack everything at Waltham Cross. “Everyone talks about packing at source, but we’ve found that by centralising our packing at Waltham Cross and driving volume through the facility, the costs are very similar,” says Turone. “The UK minimum wage has gone up three times in a very short space of time, and by 20 per cent overall, but we have been reducing labour costs by adding new technology.
Introducing new vertical multihead weighing machines, optical-grading and washing equipment has improved product quality and production efficiency. “You can assess the quality of product at source, but when the weather has not been ideal, you will not always necessarily be able to predict the deterioration that might occur during transit. By consolidating our packing at one site, we were able to control all quality issues at the packhouse stage,”
The packhouse operates round-the-clock and to back that up, Stubbins stepped up its own Continental Express logistics service, using two drivers in all trucks to speed up the importation of raw materials using vehicles travelling between Gibraltar, Spain and the UK.
Outside of the peak UK season, management travel to production sites across Europe to learn, pass on their knowledge and build a stronger relationship with growers. And the investment in machinery and facilities, while it reduces the dependency on human resources in some respects, would not be worth a dime if it was not supported by a similarly committed investment in people, Turone says. Winning the Re:fresh award in 2005 has given the team a lift and the recognition they deserved, and it has also encouraged people to want to join our business and share in our success. Successful people will create a successful company.”
New packaging machinery has also given Stubbins customers more options, both in terms of uniformity and inclusion of customer product information on labels. “We have the technology to flow-wrap, shrink-wrap, weigh and price product individually to any customer’s needs,” says Turone. “Our innovation in the packaging field last year made the salad industry stop and think. We see ourselves at the forefront of new packaging development.
Stubbins has acquired new UK sites to tap into the trend towards regional sourcing, with success. Its Rhymney Valley nursery, in South Wales, has brought significant new business with supermarkets in the principality keen to have red dragons on their packs of tomatoes. And with sites in Essex and Cambridgeshire, the Union Jack gets a good look in too. “The key to successful importing is selecting the best growers and forming trustworthy long-term partnerships with them,” Turone says. “We will continue to look at new source countries and regions to find and develop the best growers of tomorrow.”
The newest challenge is Poland. “We were the UK’s leading importer of salads from Poland last year,” says Turone. “We have been working out there for three years. It takes time to develop the business, to find the right partners. They have the right infrastructure and very capable growers, but we obviously need growers that are prepared to grow varieties that are suited to the UK market and after that it is the fine-tuning of techniques to ensure that they can achieve the right flavour. Our Polish salad growers are now producing the same varietal mix as our UK and Dutch growers.”
“In the current climate, it is all about energy; northern European production is at a crossroads because energy prices are the most expensive in the world, and costs will only go up in the foreseeable future,” says Turone. The company has expended considerable time and effort in researching heating and power projects, in order to stay one step ahead and create a sustainable platform for the entire supply chain. “Stubbins has always responded to the key challenges within the salads category,” says Turone. “We are also seeing an increase in extreme weather patterns in traditional source countries, hence our wider geographical spread and use of airfreight at appropriate times. We are promoting technologically advanced structures and developing our overseas growers into packers to reduce their costs. And we have shared our experience with growers to help them to achieve better yields and gain efficiencies from new techniques and varieties.”
All, of course, designed to deliver the 12-month consistency that is demanded, expected, but still not necessarily a given for UK customers. After talking to Turone, the inescapable conclusion is that, at Stubbins, no stone will be left unturned in the quest to meet those demands.
A VERY CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP
In partnership with a new pasta manufacturer, Stubbins has recently launched a new range of meals in BP’s express forecourts. Under the brand Café Creation, the potted meal series combines pasta with products such as roasted peppers and cherry tomatoes. Customers remove a separate lid section which contains fresh chicken or Tiger Prawns, salad and vegetables. They then add this to the fresh pasta, add the sauce and shake to create a freshly made pasta salad meal. Around 12,000 pots a week have been flying off the shelves across the UK, retailing at £1.99.
Once a partner was found, the strategy quickly developed into the Café Creation concept. “As producers of raw material pasta and raw material fresh produce we can deliver a healthy, high quality eating experience for customers to enjoy on the go,” says Turone, who adds that more products are in the pipeline and will be coming off the production line in the near future.
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