QV Foods is sponsoring the Retailer of the Year category for the second consecutive year at the Re:fresh Awards, and its support of all facets of the retail sector reflects a change of direction at the company in the last two years.
In that time, QV has transformed itself from a traditional, family-owned packer of fresh potatoes for the multiple retail sector into a very different animal. The starting point was the acquisition of MBM Potatoes in 2009, which gained QV a foothold in the processing and foodservice sectors and also opened the group up to a wider network of retail customers.
The QV fresh potato business has grown by 50 per cent since that purchase, and a switch in strategic focus has also seen rapid expansion in its processed potato and vegetables business, as well as a recent move into pre-packed fruit.
The successful integration of MBM proved a catalyst for a complete change of direction at QV, which has taken a similar approach to other categories and actively pursued and developed combined commercial and growing relationships with like-minded businesses. These “farming partnerships”, with traditional, family-run growing operations have moved QV onto a different level and allowed it to position itself as a route to market across all sectors of the fresh and processed fresh produce trade.
“This has been a considered and measured approach driven by very clear goals,” says QV Foods director Simon Martin. “This change in focus internally has also opened up new avenues to us and by working with like-minded businesses, we have been able to develop growing programmes that fit the models of all sectors of the retail market.
“Sponsoring the four-pronged Retailer of the Year category at Re:fresh is our way of recognising the value of every one of the strands of retail in the UK,” he adds. “The breadth of our customer base now means we serve not only customers in the multiple and convenience sectors, but also independent retailers and market traders. While the last two may be serviced indirectly through our wholesale customers, I believe you ignore those extremely important routes to market at your peril. This industry has perhaps understandably looked at multiple retailers as the preferred choice of customer for many years now, but to undervalue other retail sectors is to cut off huge sales potential and large swathes of the population.”
Martin recognises, though, that there is a world of opportunity outside the retail boundaries. Without losing sight of its core customer base, the strategic focus has switched at QV, from servicing a small group of large customers to becoming a more flexible operation that can meet the needs of a wider array of customers across different sectors.
“We have enhanced our technical standards, continued the development of our packaging formats and come up with a series of innovative flavours and brands to differentiate QV products,” he says. “For instance, our Inspire brand, backed by Gregg Wallace, sells 500,000 packs a week - and we have ambitious plans to extend its reach into different product areas with various customers over the next few months.”
The development of targeted partnerships within the supply chain has laid a solid foundation for future growth across retail and all other sectors of the industry, says Martin. “The produce sector is likely to see further consolidation - we can’t ignore that. As growers and packers are pressed to continue to drive quality and value, access to volume will play a major part in a company’s ability to become efficient and therefore generate profit.
“QV feels that diversification through the creation of long-term partnerships is the best way to continue driving our group’s business forward and retaining key knowledge, experience, provenance and historical strength in the business,” he says. “That does not mean that QV would not look at acquiring another company for the benefit of the whole group, but the reasoning behind such a move would need to fit with our overall philosophy.”
No comments yet