THERE IS no doubt about it, when it comes to gastronomy consumers are getting far more demanding. The days when a banana, or later an avocado, was seen as a rare treat are long gone. As people have become more adventurous, travelling as far as Thailand or the Caribbean for a break, rather than the Costa de Sol, their willingness to embrace new eating experiences has likewise grown. With more sophisticated eating habits to contend with, food retailers are in a position to carry more unusual products. Yet, with some non-traditional products being consumed on an increasingly rapid basis, the line between exotic and standard produce has become somewhat blurred.
While some importers dabble in a few niche lines, exotic, or speciality, produce is Wealmoor’s reason for being. “Our business is split into three main categories: air freight and speciality veg, exotic fruit, and exotic veg,” says Avnish Malde, the company’s commercial director. “Exotic fruit and veg comprises more than half our business - between these categories, we’re talking about 35-40 lines. The terms change depending on who you speak to and sometimes there is an overlap especially between speciality and exotic veg.”
This confusion extends throughout the industry, as the concept of what constitutes an exotic remains rather transient and ill-defined. “If you go back far enough, bananas were once classed as exotic, nowadays they are the nation’s favourite fruit and it would be very unusual not to have them on display in store,” says Somerfield’s fruit buyer Ben Lainton. “We consider pineapple, mango, chillies and garlic all to be exotic foods as they originate from outside the UK and cannot be seasonally grown here,” he adds. “There is a grey area between a traditional exotic product and a mainstream exotic, ultimately it is customer demand that dictates how quickly a product becomes mainstream.”
Meanwhile, like many others, Agrexco’s product manager Eitan Zvi suggests that along with sweet potato, figs and dates, mango has become so fully-integrated into the fruit category that it need no longer be classified as an exotic.
Malde claims this dramatic penetration is the result of a combination of factors: “The product has been made more available to the consumer, in a more user-friendly format on a more regular basis, with more consistency in quality and more promotion at the point of sale,” he says. “It is not just about the product but the format of presentation. We have turned the mango market on its head by delivering them in a riper format in a protected linered container rather than the standard Euro box, which enables customers to see what they are buying, to see how ripe the mangoes are before they purchase them.”
Sainsbury’s exotic fruits buyer Victoria Smith similarly attributes the success of the product to a combination of greater exposure, varietal improvement and an ability to cater for the full consumer spectrum. “We have worked hard to improve availability in all stores, and only stock non-fibrous varieties, unlike some of our competitors, as the UK customer tends to prefer smooth-fleshed fruit,” she says. “We have created a range that gives a broader appeal, with a Basics line and a premium line, to ensure that all of our customers can buy into the area. Mangoes regularly feature in a variety of modern cuisine, which has increased customer awareness of their versatility. In addition, we have recently introduced POS and tip-cards in-store to encourage customers to try new ways with mangoes and there is a clear trend of customers trading into more specialist varieties of mango, which we will continue to improve upon.”
Zvi says the multiples can exert an influence over consumer uptake simply by their choice of location for the product in-store. For example, some place sweet potatoes alongside regular potatoes whereas others separate them, he says. Smith claims the exotic fruit is presented together as a separate category to make shopping easier. By contrast, according to the chain’s exotic veg buyer John Maylam, exotic and conventional vegetables are fairly well integrated in accordance with customer acceptance of the products. “Lines such as sweetcorn, asparagus and courgettes have become very mainstream and now represent the main bulk of the volume in exotic veg; asparagus in particular, with the recent summer campaign, has seen excellent growth,” he adds.
Despite the increasing range of produce on offer in the major multiples, there is still a significant gap between the number of lines being directed towards wholesale and retail which is not showing any signs of closing, says Malde. “There is a wider range that goes into foodservice and wholesale for specialist shops rather than retail. There is quite a bit of pressure within some of the retailers to keep what sells best on-the-shelf. Some of the more exotic lines have had their stint in the past and there has been a large amount of wastage associated with them. For most retailers it is a question of balancing having a wide range and stocking what sells.”
Chris Abram, category manager at Minor, Weir & Willis, says he has tried to introduce all manner of products over the years and a large number have fallen by the wayside. “We tried longan, which I think is worth re-trying, as a substitute when lychee isn’t available. As a talking point we also tried Jackfruit. They succeeded in as much as they got the department noticed and people talking about them.” However, long-term success in introducing a product to the market is largely down to the response of the retailer, he claims. “It tends to go in cycles. If it is at a time when our retail customers want to make a show of fresh produce it is relatively easy to get new products launched, but if they are worried about extending their range then obviously it is more difficult.”
Sainsbury’s stocks up to 25 different exotic lines at any one time but Smith says she is always open to the possibility of introducing items that will offer something different to the consumer. “For example, we recently introduced loose Israeli pomegranates, which are larger and more vibrant than the Spanish variety, and customers love them.” Flexibility is key, she suggests: “We can look at how similar products have performed in the past, but as customer’s tastes evolve it may be that a line that has been unsuccessful previously will appeal to today’s consumer. Understanding what products are popular in restaurants and elsewhere is important, as is offering customers ideas on usage.”
Creating interest in a new product is achieved by a combination of approaches, according to Agrexco’s UK manager, Amos Orrr. “We need to show that we have something different as was the case with the tree-ripened Maya and Shelly mango varieties we introduced, which offered both look and taste,” he says. “When we are happy and get a good response from Israel we are then confident to show it to buyers, category managers and technologists. If we get a good response from them, we try to bring it to growing areas in Israel.” While price promotions can be beneficial, securing fruit with a good appearance and eating quality is more important with exotics, he says. Consumers also respond well to menu cards and information about preparing and eating the fruit, as well as celebrity endorsement on TV, he adds. Maylam agrees that this is fundamental.
However, Orr suggests certain products will be prohibited from further penetration by unavoidable cost differences. “Using dragon fruit as an example - it is a hand pollinated crop, it is air-freighted and hard to handle - all making it an expensive product.” Chilean nursery manager, Ignacio Cifuentes, agrees the business of exporting exotics can present unique challenges. As well as the Chilean favourite Cherimoya, the Huerto California nursery also produces around 12-15,000 3kg boxes of loquats or ‘golden nuggets’, a typically Asian fruit, mainly for export to Japan.
Cifuentes would like to step up the export volumes of the fruit but the logistical difficulties of production and transportation make it unfeasible. Not only does it have to be matured inside polythene bags to avoid bruising, but it also has to be transported in plastic trays. “Pickers don’t touch the fruit and it has to be fumigated with air pressure,” he says. “The other problem is that the season overlaps with the traditional summer fruit. So it has to compete with stone fruit etc for air freight space and it is much more cost-effective to transport stone fruit.”
Abram says exotic producers are also at the mercy of stricter regimes and higher technology testing for agro-chemical usage, which renders them vulnerable to “scare stories”, and residue breaches are an increasing concern. “Exotics frequently need only a small amount of pesticide but they all have to be tested on a product-by-product basis and given the returns on them it is not cost-effective for the agro-chemical producers to spend their money testing exotics,” he explains.
Agrexco category buyer, Ian Crispen, agrees the challenges extend throughout the chain and the stakes can be much higher than for those dealing in conventional products. “It is the hardest environment to work in by the nature of the product,” he says. “You have to confront small volumes, short seasons, and more fragile products as well as more in-store wastage. One mistake in the chain can ruin the return to the grower in one season.” As such, one of the biggest challenges for a company of Agrexco’s stature is convincing growers at the induction phase to stick with the product, he adds.
According to Abram, very few brand-new products have succeeded in totally penetrating the market in recent years. Maylam agrees that in veg, rather it is new varieties of existing items that are attracting attention. “I don’t believe chillies or garlic are seen as particularly exotic anymore as a food group but more the specific types of each. For example scotch bonnet chillies or Taste The Difference Caribbean ginger which build on the basic flavours of these two groups that people already recognise.”
However, certain niche products are starting to show considerable promise. Sainsbury’s is reporting significant sales increases in Sharonfruit and pomegranate, which, along with figs, dates and passionfruit are set to make a much bigger impact in the years to come, according to several sources. Abram, meanwhile, is quick to emphasise that the success of mango is unlikely to be replicated in a hurry. “The exotics category has hardly moved on in the last 10 years. In those days nine or 10 per cent of people were buying mango; now it is something like 21 or 22 per cent. Pomegranate, figs and dates could go the same way and we are looking to expand production of these products significantly, but mango is different. It is completely acceptable to our palate. There are no barriers with it, unlike other products which don’t deliver on taste in the same way.”
When it comes to forecasting the success of an exotic product, Maylam says all retail buyers can do is try and judge consumer reactions to similar products, but there are absolutely no guarantees. Malde agrees, suggesting that at the end of the day there is no golden ticket and perseverance is quite simply the sole route to successful integration of a new product: “You won’t know how a product is going to succeed until you get it onto the shelf and you are bound to a certain extent by customer preference but if you genuinely believe there is value in a product you can succeed,” he says.
So, is there any clear way to define what constitutes an exotic? It would appear not, since the concept depends on conditions outside of the industry. Importers and retailers may categorise produce according to certain criteria but consumer perspectives will vary as a result of ethnicity, experience and geographical location, and by nature evolve over time. l
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