EVS has always focused on innovation in every part of its business, from growing to marketing. The company was formed from three grower co-operatives in Yorkshire and has more than 70 grower partners, producing a wide portfolio of different types of salad for UK retailers. During the import season, EVS also nurtures a network of growers and logistics partners across Europe.
“The Bakkavor values are very much at the heart of our operation,” explains Kelly Colrein, marketing manager for the company, which has been owned by the Bakkavor Group since 2005. “The people who work for us have to have a ‘can do’ attitude and must not be afraid to make mistakes. We are focused on innovation and product improvement, which is all the more important in today’s tough economic climate.”
And EVS did just that last year when Trio Leaf, a wholehead consisting three different varieties of lettuce, hit the retail market in a big way.
Dutch seed breeder Rijk Zwaan’s Trio Leaf was originally developed for the prepared industry, due to the easy-to-use capacity of the leaves. But EVS saw greater potential when it discovered the concept on a seed trial expedition in the Netherlands.
The company followed up its ideas by conducting consumer research on what people needed out of wholehead lettuce and found there was a gap in the retail market for the product.
“Waste and lack of variety were two of the main reasons consumers did not buy wholehead lettuce,” explains Colrein. “People were buying two heads of lettuce to mix and then ended up throwing away the majority of it. Many people still want to buy wholehead rather than prepared because they believe it is fresher and closer to nature than prepared.
“After we received the research results we went back to Rijk Zwaan and said we would like to have Trio Leaf to market for the UK retail sector. There had been a small trial of this type of concept through another major supermarket, but nothing commercially significant, so we took it on in September 2006,” she adds.
Trio Leaf launched in 50 Asda stores in May 2007 and is now available nationwide. The Co-op followed by stocking the product in January this year and other retailers have approached EVS since it received the Re:fresh award.
But will this innovation continue through hard times? Even though the company’s sales have dipped slightly this year, EVS has experienced substantial growth over the years, with turnover increasing each year. Colrein says that it has been a tough year throughout the industry, but the main reason sales have slowed this year is because EVS has readjusted its customer base.
Colrein believes that, in the fresh produce industry, marketing companies need to be category managers as well. EVS keeps an eye on the trends by following TNS data and holding regular category reviews with its customers. The company also holds quarterly focus groups with its customers to keep up to date with consumer needs and range expectations.
“The credit crunch has had an effect on the way we put forward our products,” says Colrein. “We focus on the whole ‘value’ equation. So it is not just about price, but more about making sure that our product presents good value for money. It is about reducing the potential for waste and focusing, as always, on quality. We need to make fresh produce more appealing for lower income families who are increasingly turning to the frozen sector to save money and reduce food waste. And we need to keep talking to the end consumer in order to give them want they want.”
Colrein says that it has been a tough summer for the salad industry but believes that EVS is the type of business that can change with the industry. “It has been a struggle for some of our growers,” she admits. “But we are there to support them and ensure that we market all of their crops, as well as helping them to improve products and processes.”
Although EVS has partnerships with growers throughout the UK, its heartland is in Yorkshire. Based in Selby, North Yorkshire, its state-of-the-art packhouse produces half a million packs of tomatoes a week on its six-pack line and handles approximately three-quarters of a million peppers a week. Welcoming up to 50 vehicles a day from both the UK and Europe, the packhouse has become a salad product hub. “We live and breathe fresh produce,” says Colrein. “We drive innovation to drive growth.”
This is why winning Re:fresh’s Innovation of the Year award was such an achievement for the company, says Colrein. “Innovation is really a fundamental thing and we work really hard in this area, which isn’t always recognised in the industry, so to get recognition was really good,” she insists.
“It was nice to bring the award back to the Bakkavor business and for the growers and seed company. The award has got our name out there as an innovator and it has helped to attract new customers.”
EVS’s Trio Leaf grower in the Netherlands, Mark Delissen, who has been the main producer of the product for the company from the start, was surprised to have his work recognised. “I have seen an improvement in company morale since winning the award and it has made everyone work that much harder,” he says. “I am surprised that someone could win an award for a lettuce - it has really taken my company forward.”
But now the Re:fresh award is under its belt, EVS is not getting complacent. Delissen has been working on behalf of EVS to develop different versions of Trio Leaf, which at the moment consists of lollo rosso, lollo biondo and red oak lettuce.
Trio Leaf is also being produced in the UK and one of EVS’ growers in Yorkshire has converted greenhouse space to grow Trio Leaf. “We have two growers producing Trio Leaf in the UK now and we have seen heightened interest from our grower base for the product since we won the award,” says Colrein.
And Rijk Zwaan is now working to improve disease resistance and developing new varieties to push the product forward.
But Trio Leaf accounts for only a small part of overall sales and the company puts the same amount of effort into developing its other products. “We are focused on different tomato varieties,” says Colrein. “Not always for a new product, but for better yield, flavour or disease resistance.
“We have been working with grower WS Bentley [Growers] Ltd to market sprouting seeds, which are slowly starting to penetrate the market. The And Sow On brand was launched in January into The Co-op and was recognised in the Yorkshire Post Taste Yorkshire Awards recently.”
EVS is also a leading innovator when it comes to packaging and has been endeavouring to reduce the amount of packaging materials its uses on its sites. It has recently installed a new six-pack tomato line, which packs tomatoes without plastic trays. “We carried out shipping tests for three months before using the new machine in the packhouse,” says Chris Wilson, EVS’ sales support within the packhouse. “We found that taking the trays away has not affected the quality of the tomatoes.
“Supermarkets and consumers are asking for a reduction in packaging so we have to respond.”
So it looks like EVS is well placed to survive the current economic climate and keep its focus firmly on innovation. “We are in a good position and people always want to eat fresh produce,” says Colrein. “But what people buy will be different; consumers are very concerned by waste and our challenge is to streamline ranges but still keep the category exciting.
“Innovation cannot just stop because, even in difficult times, we can re-engineer products to fit with consumer needs.”
