With a consistently positive growth rate, the exotic fruit market is valued at £343.9 million, following growth this year of 8.7 per cent in value and 9.15 per cent in volume.
This was driven by purchase frequency, which was up six per cent year on year, and trip volume, which in turn increased two per cent [Kantar]. “The size of the exotics category means that comparatives can be volatile and trends difficult to identify,” comments Paul Nicholls, commercial director of Total Exotics.
“However, these numbers are encouraging, particularly as the growth appears to have been motivated by purchase frequency. This would suggest that the consumer is beginning to enjoy the eating quality of the exotics offer as it is this experience that drives repeat purchase.
“This element is critical to the development of the exotic category out of the niche and into the mainstream,” he adds.
But for certain demographics, exotics are already a well-established part of their everyday diet. “Even in the current economic environment there is a substantial section of the consumer base, particularly among young adults, which recognises and values the benefits that exotic produce provides,” observes Nicholls.
Pricing has also played its part in encouraging consumers to buy. “Multibuy promotions have had a large impact in the category, as have ‘round-pound’ price points,” says Will Lloyd, marketing manager at Univeg Katopé UK. “These are now almost the norm for various exotic lines such as lychees, pomegranates, physalis and passionfruit.”
In the last year, multibuy and mix-and-match offers across tropical products have also been used to encourage sales, but not everyone is happy about it. Oded Jacobson, CEO of Israeli-based Galilee Export, thinks current price levels are far too low. “There are a lot of promotions and aggressive competition,” he says, and gives an example of a fruit that is particularly badly affected by the price wars - Israeli mango.
“The market is flooded and demand is low. It is killing the producers,” Jacobson adds.
So how will retailers respond to the current market? Nicholls hopes retailers will be sufficiently emboldened by the exotics category’s positive performance to merchandise it with greater commitment, featuring more space in store and a wider range on shelf. Whether the category will continue to do this well at a time when consumers are facing real financial challenges is difficult to predict, he thinks. “What the supply chain must do is communicate with the consumer via all available media regarding the features, attributes and benefits of exotic fruit. In this way we give ourselves the best chance of sustaining this trend.”
In addition to the growing trend for exotics, some fruit varieties are doing particularly well. “As the Kantar data suggests, products that currently have relatively low penetration such as lychee, sharonfruit and pomegranate, are fulfilling their potential to demonstrate impressive growth in percentage terms,” comments Nicholls.
“Reassuringly, our experience is that the bulkier lines such as mango have also performed well in the last couple of months. This has been a result of good availability and consistent quality at a time when domestic produce has found it difficult to deliver on these key criteria.”
Lloyd adds: “Figs are also doing very well with over 30 per cent growth in value over the last year. We expect fig growth to continue with the focus now turning to the Turkish ‘Black Bursa’ fig season which is now getting underway.”
Again, this might mean a continuous drive for more competitive prices, thinks Lloyd. “We expect the pricing and promotional strategies to continue, so long as customers have to balance food costs against the desire to have something a little more ‘exotic’.” -
TURKISH DELIGHT
Hailed as ‘the best figs in the world’, Black Bursa are back on supermarket shelves and as tasty as ever. Lisa Kjellsson reports
Turkish figs have just come into season, filling Waitrose shelves from this week through until mid-October.
The variety on sale is Black Bursa, regarded as the best in the world. It has proven extremely popular with Waitrose customers and sales last year were superb, according to exotic fruit buyer Jane Goodson. “This is recognised as the perfect time of year to eat figs as the fruit is very sweet and tastes like jam,” she explains. “Our suppliers pick the fruit when it is large and heavy to ensure the best possible quality.”
Figs are an extremely versatile fruit. They can be eaten fresh on their own, sliced up in salads or served with antipasti, or used to create some quick and tasty desserts, for example drizzled with honey and a sprinkling of flaked almonds as a topping for plain yoghurt or lightly baked with sugar and lemon juice. For the more adventurous chef, figs make a great addition to bread and butter pudding and chocolate desserts.
To help customers with even more ideas, the supermarket has listed recipes online at waitrose.com/recipes.
“This exotic fruit is one of my favourites as it’s so sweet and tasty when in season,” says Goodson. “Figs are easy to eat, so are perfect for a snack, but their striking appearance also means they look great when added to salads or as a topping for a dessert.
“The Black Bursa variety of the Turkish fig is really superb and certainly the best I have ever tasted. Our customers love Turkish figs and we expect our sales this season to be just as strong as last year, if not better.” -
HISTORY OF THE BLACK BURSA
The Black Bursa variety is likely to have been around for thousands of years as the first documented tree in human history was the fig tree.
Grown in the Bursa region of north-west Turkey, the figs are best known for their deep purple-black colour and their large size. Unlike many other fig varieties, Black Bursa are not self-pollinating.
The fruit ripens unevenly, taking around 30 to 40 days to do so, meaning a tree can have its fruit picked several times throughout the season. The growing and harvesting is done by hand so as not to damage the delicate fruit.
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