A new Kent-based fruit supplier claims to be the only company in the UK specialised in importing grape and lemons purely for the foodservice sector.
MVS Foodservices, based at the Cross & Wells facility in Sittingbourne, is the joint project of South Africans Hannes Martin, pictured seated, formerly head of the foodservice divisions of both Capespan and MTEX, and Melt van Schoor, also pictured, who spent the last two years on Redbridge’s Tesco account for berries.
Their decision to concentrate 100 per cent on foodservice clients reflects the changing needs of the sector, Martin told FPJ. “Our biggest sales point is that we are foodservice only. All the other suppliers have multiple customers and, in most cases, foodservice is an add-on. If supplies run short, they won’t short the retailer, they’ll short the foodservice customer. And when they make decisions on source and varieties, it tends to be based on what Tesco or Sainsbury’s want. Our entire focus is on supplying the foodservice customer with what they want, when they want it.”
The company also handles oranges and will expand its portfolio to include berries in the near future. To ensure continuity of supply, the majority of MVS suppliers work on a contract basis for customers who require increasing technical detail, assurances about food safety and year-round availability. “We will absorb the risks, the inevitable highs and lows that come with 12-month supply of citrus and grape. Through contract supply we deliver product within specification and on time to our customers - irrespective of market conditions - whilst ensuring a guaranteed pull-model to our suppliers,” said Van Schoor. “There are times when it is pretty much guaranteed that we will have to subsidise the price on grape, but that is the nature of the beast and we are taking the long-term view with both our suppliers and customers.”
Aside from product, MVS believes branding and an ability to add value to the supply chain will play a crucial part in its future. “We are already supplying most of the big players and they are extremely market-driven organisations. They need MVS to be a company that adds value to their sector,” Martin said.
“Differentiation creates factors of sustainable advantage and as a specialist fruit supplier to the foodservice sector MVS pioneers invention and change.”
