Lincolnshire farmer and TV chef Rachel Green had her work cut out keeping the closing panel session of Re:fresh 2009 on track and on task.
Green steered the panel representing wholesale, foodservice, the convenience sector and suppliers, as well as the audience, on the topic of opportunities for the fresh produce industry beyond the major supermarkets.
She said: “There is a feast of opportunities and they go beyond the big four… Consumers are seeing the light and know what they want more than they did 10 years ago. Perhaps a little humility in this industry would go well.”
The audience questioned the panel - Fresh Produce Consortium wholesale division chairman Chris Hutchinson, national foodservice operator Tony Reynolds, ceo of the Association of Convenience Stores James Lowman and managing director of Florette UK Mark Newton - on areas as diverse as seasonality, balance in the marketplace, the performance of fresh produce in the recession, supplying the foodservice sector and encouraging young people into the business.
Hutchinson arguably summed up the views of the whole industry when he told delegates: “By definition, our industry has to feed people 52 weeks of the year… It is not feasible, say with asparagus, that everyone in the UK can enjoy English asparagus during its season… But that doesn’t detract from the fact that when British product starts its season, there is an excitement and it attracts people.”
Lockwood Press’ Tommy Leighton, organiser of Re:fresh, asked the panel whether fresh produce was performing well in the credit crunch, as pundits have forecast. Reynolds answered: “The buy-one-meal-get-one-free deals have helped with our volumes, but they have disguised where profitability is going. Our volumes have stayed where they should be, but there could be a delayed reaction to these types of offers in terms of profitability.”
Lowman indicated that footfall was up, turnover steady and margins down in his sector. He said: “People are buying more on promotion and trading down to cheaper brands. For example, we are seeing some delisting of organic ranges and impulse buys such as soft fruit are down.”
And answering Andrew Middlebrook of Monaghan Mushrooms’ request for advice on supplying beyond the big four into foodservice, Newton said: “With foodservice, you have to have a different mentality… One-size-fits-all doesn’t work.”
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