The UK fresh potato business is the largest sector within the produce industry but it is showing a decline in year-on-year volume of -4 per cent. The popularity of low carbohydrate diets has played its part in slowing sales, but this is not the only reason. As one of the UK’s leading potato suppliers MBM is well positioned to ensure its growers and consumers keep ahead of the market.
The consumer and marketplace for potatoes is changing, according to Julia Gilbert, MBM’s customer insight and marketing manager. She says: “Consumers are time-poor, recent statistics have shown that 45 per cent of the working population is female. Convenience is more important than it has ever been, and strong growth in the frozen and chilled potato products markets back this up. With more convenient and exciting products on offer in these categories, shoppers are making the switch away from fresh potatoes. These factors have and will continue to effect the consumption of fresh potatoes unless the changing consumers’ needs are met.”
Premier Foods, MBM’s parent company, is among the UK’s largest food companies with sales of close to £1 billion and leading household brands such as Branston pickle, Typhoo tea and Ambrosia. With its own highly experienced and committed team and access to Premier’s knowledge, skills and resources, MBM is therefore equipped to tackle challenges from the marketplace.
One area where MBM is leading the way is in variety development. “Our extensive new variety trials programme assesses all new varieties for size, dry matter, fry colour and marketable yield. It also looks at suitability for crisping, chipping, pre-pack, bakers, salad punnets, novelty and organic production,” says Gilbert. “With trials tailored to each individual customer, varieties, which have improved characteristics on those currently available, are carefully selected and the seed is placed with selected growers for the production of high quality ware potatoes.”
Many varieties launched from MBM’s development programme have proven to be successful. “The early variety Lady Christl can be found on all the major supermarket shelves at this time of year,” says Gilbert. “Victoria is a superior chipping variety which is becoming more widely available under the MBM’s ‘Chippie’s Choice’ brand. It offers the fish and chip trade a real alternative to Maris Piper for the production of the perfect chip. For the salad potato market, there is Juliette, a premium variety which offers superior eating qualities to other salad potato varieties.”
A number of potato varieties that have been developed by MBM in past years are still widely used and relevant to today’s market. Two such varieties are the Lady Rosetta crisping variety and Anya, the distinctive and unique salad potato variety. Gilbert says: “Anya won the ‘Fresh Produce’ Q Award at the Quality Food & Drink Awards 2003. With more than 500 products entered for the Q Awards and products being judged on their taste, presentation, packaging and aroma as well as their ability to meet a real consumer demand, this was a tremendous achievement.”
It is not only the variety that needs to be considered when developing products to meet the consumers’ increasing demands for convenience and quality. The format in which potatoes are sold is also a key consideration. MBM’s Baby Pearls brand of baby potatoes was developed with convenience and quality in mind and following the success of the 10kg box in the wholesale market, MBM developed new 750g and 1kg pillow pack retail formats for the increasing number of convenience stores. “These pillow pack formats are currently available through selected distributors and initial sales have been very encouraging,” says Gilbert.
With consumers becoming more environmentally aware and with concern mounting over residues on fresh produce, MBM’s technical team have teamed up with BioFresh Ltd and installed a NASA-derived ethylene management system to provide residue-free sprouting control in long-term potato stores.
Gilbert says: “Until now, the chemical CIPC has been the only commercially available sprout suppressant for potatoes, however it will nearly always leave a detectable residue on the tubers. The hunt has been on for an alternative to CIPC that doesn’t leave any detectable residue. Occurring naturally in plants, ethylene appears to be a solution.
“The first ethylene management system was installed into one of MBM’s cold-stores in December 2003 and following a successful trial, will be rolled out to further cold-stores next season.”
These activities are testament to the work of MBM. Gilbert says: “We are actively working to reverse the decline in fresh potato sales and encourage consumers to put potatoes back in their shopping baskets. With our own expertise and access to Premier’s resources, MBM is committed to doing this.“
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