A group of healthy and relatively small companies are taking the fresh produce industry by storm and showing the big boys how it’s done, according to research released by industry analyst Plimsoll Publishing.

Emerging companies are boosting sales at three times the rate of their larger competitors, according to Plimsoll, delivering four times the profitability and showing five times the return on investment.

Price deflation, which first of all hit companies in air travel, the electrical goods sector, used cars and insurance firms, is now leaving its mark on the bigger players in the fresh produce industry.

Some 12 of the industry’s top 100 firms are losing money, while 35 are making less profit than last year. Salaries alone eat up 10 per cent of sales at larger firms, who Plimsoll have stated are generally better payers but less productive. Smaller competitors are now proving more efficient.

Plimsoll senior analyst David Pattison said: “Twelve of the bigger companies are displaying symptoms of extreme tiredness, but the larger firms are desperate not to miss out on new profit and growth areas and so are busy hunting down these emerging companies. At Plimsoll, we have identified why this is happening and who it is happening to.”

The fresh produce business is just the latest in a long line of sectors to be adversely affected by falling prices.

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