Importer and non-supermarket supplier Poupart has just started bringing the premium Italian produce brand Made in Blu into the UK market on an exclusive basis.
Stone fruit under the marque has started to arrive in the country over the last two weeks with produce set to follow seasonal patterns and availability moving into grapes, plums, apples, pears and kiwifruit.
Poupart has got together with Made in Blu Trading, the export arm of the Mediterranean Fruit Company which groups nine co-ops in all the major producing areas of Italy, in a venture that is likely to turn around common misconceptions of Italian produce.
"The image that many people have of Italian fruit is of very commercial product," said Poupart's Jonathan Olins. "But these co-ops have got together to form a higher standard market quality and created a striking brand identity. All produce sold under the marque is hand selected and fruit is individually stickered. It really is aimed at the top end of the market."
And both Poupart and Made in Blu have been delighted with the ready welcome the new lines are receiving on the UK market. "We have had an incredibly favourable response in a very short space of time," said Olins. "Fruit has moved very quickly right at the top end of the market. To begin with, traders were nervous about making the premiums and we just started off with the London markets. But already we've gone country-wide as far afield as Manchester, Liverpool, Southampton and Glasgow to establish a nation-wide panel."Interest is coming from high-class independent retailers and the catering sector.
The philosophies of Poupart and the Made in Blu are also very similar. "It is a match made in heaven," said Olins. "They select only the best varieties for eating quality and appearance and source from leading growers in the best growing areas who only use their best fruit to market under the brand." Poupart concentrates on supplying the non-supermarket sector, wholesale, catering, independent retail groups and processors.
In addition, picking and packing is all carried out by hand at Made in Blu, traceability is full and complete and quality checks are carried out at every stage in the chain. "They also have very good point of sales materials which we have yet to start bringing in," said Olins.
Fruit is commanding a premium and the standards are setting the product are apart. "It is important to keep that standard going," said Olins. "The fruit has got to be different and they only want to market a small percentage of the crop under the brand. But a small percentage of a large crop is substantial in volume."
Plums and grapes under the Made in Blu marque are due to come on stream in the next week or two, closely followed by pears.
