The bagged-salad industry is a relative newcomer on the fresh produce scene. Florette opened its first purpose-built salad processing site in 1999, which was extended in 2000 and now employs over 350 people.
“Salad has really come a long way from the 1950s,” says marketing manager Elaine Smith. “Consumers then would have bought wholehead iceberg and that would have been the choice and offer available; it would have been very narrow. Today there is much more choice and convenience. If you’d have told shoppers in the 1950s there would be a range of salad leaves and mixes that would be chopped and ready to eat in a handy format, who would have believed that?”
Today, Florette produces 11,000 tonnes of pre-packed salad for retail and convenience customers, which equates to 50 million bags a year. The brand is currently launching two new products. Florette Sweet & Crispy will be available later this year, and the company is also producing a Three Lions-branded bagged salad aimed at English football fans. Adorned with the three lions crest, the product is a collaboration with the FA, designed to tie in with the summer barbecue season and Euro 2012.
“We actually launched it first for the World Cup in 2010 and we sold over a million bags in a six-week period,” says Smith. “Because of the strength of that, the FA were really pleased with the performance and we are now bringing it back for the Euros. The three lions crest dominates the pack and it is really going to pop out on shelf and have impact. It is such a big fixture you need strong branding to make consumers see your product on the shelf.”
In addition this year, Smith says the company is investing its biggest marketing spend to date, with £5m worth of activity planned. “We are moving away from a functional message about freshness to a more emotional message called Florette ‘Bags of Feelgood’, so we are trying to get consumers to be more engaged with us as a brand.”
“Because of this new communication we are going to invest really heavily in the brand and the category this year with our largest marketing spend to date.” Part of that will be ploughed into a campaign called Summer of Sport, where consumers can win a day with a sporting hero. Roger Black, Sally Gunnell and Colin Jackson are all involved and it will be promoted with branding on shelf and on key lines.
Looking forward Smith says new innovative products will continue to be key to the company. She also believes the emphasis on healthy eating will benefit the brand. -
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