Focus has naturally turned to one of the marketplace’s most efficient fruit and vegetable-producing nations, the Netherlands, as the new salad season starts. The first Dutch cucumbers were cut at the end of February and production of all the salad staples - tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and aubergines - will increase over the coming weeks and make their way over to the UK.
“We are slightly later than usual this year, as we did have some very cold weather at the end of January and the beginning of February,” shares UK importer Peter Davis of Davis (Louth) Ltd. “But now we have good weather and the temperatures are all plus, which is good for production.
“The frosts in Spain have meant the prices have risen in Europe and quality has been a problem, with peppers, tomatoes and iceberg lettuce having issues. Even now, prices for lettuce are above £10 per carton, which is double where it normally is at this time of the year. We have therefore had our clients onto us earlier than normal, all asking when we will be in full production and already looking at switching [to Dutch product] as soon as possible.”
Following the first cucumbers of the season, Dutch suppliers are slowly filtering the full basket of salad products onto the UK marketplace and the general consensus from wholesalers is positive, having received the first pepper and vine tomatoes.
“We’ve come to the end of the Spanish season and the changeover is looking fine,” says Manchester-based wholesaler Andrew Murison, co-owner of John Henshall Limited. “Towards the end of the Spanish salad season, quality was not so good, so it’s always a relief when Dutch and British crops start. We’ve just received the first Dutch vine tomatoes today, and they’re looking good.”
However, the market is price sensitive and, as always, the Dutch salad industry will have to stay one step ahead. Targeting consumers who need to eat on the move, The Greenery collaborated with Syngenta Seeds to produce the Sweet & Seedless Angello pepper, which won the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award this year. It has also worked with grower Dolf Boekestijn to create an orange mini pepper at only 25-55mm long and 25-40mm wide, named Sweet Pepper Power. Both are sweet, seedless mini versions of traditional peppers, making ideal snacks. It is also easy to fill, to grill, to make somes tapas and so on. The Angello is focussed on snacking, while thanks to its shape, the Tasty Pep is a seedless pepper which can be used in a numerous ways.
Snack salads are becoming a big trend in Europe and The Greenery believes that consumers in the UK are not far behind. “In the UK, the demand for snack salads as a concept is behind compared to the demand in Europe,” says a spokeswoman for the company. “Products like mini cucumbers in shakers and tomatoes on the go are very popular in Europe, and the demand for this type of products is increasing.”
And with new varieties coming onto the market, customer education is vital. The use of QR codes seems to be especially useful and something the fresh produce marketplace is slowly taking on. Although initially working on a project looking at more exotic vegetables, the Best Fresh Group’s Retail Service Centre’s Fleur Vreugdenhil sees a future trend in salad consumption that will include “consumer information about origin and using products” whether that is preparation or storage ideas.
The 2012 Dutch salad season holds much promise, whether in variety development, information technology for the customer or sustainability credentials, as the Dutch industry continues to focus on continually driving improvements and maintaining its reputation for quality.
