As a brightly-coloured, weighty vegetable, pumpkins certainly attract attention and during late October, they even take on a bewitching quality. Although we are used to seeing carved pumpkins in windows and on doorsteps during Halloween, edible pumpkin consumption is rising and producers are hoping for a repeat performance of last season’s strong sales.
Growers reported good weather conditions during the planting period and, according to Colin Miller, Barfoot’s head of supply chain, it has been a very good season to date. “Pumpkin quality is superb,” he says. “The skins are very hardy and we’ve got dense pumpkins with good colour. We’ve also got the volumes this season.”
The UK’s leading pumpkin supplier, David Bowman, has also been happy with growing conditions. “The weather has been kind and we haven’t suffered too much from rain,” says its eponymous owner David Bowman. “This season’s pumpkins should keep better compared to the past two seasons as the crop seems to be ripe and solid.”
When questioned about skin problems and mildew issues, growers have expressed little concern.
However, a lack of rain will result in smaller pumpkins overall, and according to Bowman, few really big sizes will be available this season.
Miller does not think this will be a problem. “We won’t see a large number of the very big pumpkins,” he confirms. “However, there’s only a fairly small demand for this size.”
Predictably, demand really comes into its own during the pre-Halloween period. “In the run up to Halloween, we’re very busy and there’s huge demand,” Bowman says. “We’re not talking pallets, more lorry loads.”
Indeed, Halloween celebrations seem to be going down the US route and in recent years have become more spectacular and elaborate, particularly in Spalding, which claims to be the pumpkin capital of Britain (see box on page 28).
While the majority of pumpkins are sold in supermarkets, other outlets are muscling in on the deal. According to Bowman, stores are being challenged by garden centres. “Garden sales put on a show as they attempt to attract customers,” he says.
Oakley Farms, which produces the majority of its pumpkins for carving, is making the most of growing demand. “We have increased our pumpkin production year on year as our core customers are selling more pumpkins,” says the company’s Steve Whitworth, adding that similarly to other producers, the firm also exports small amounts to Holland.
“Sales have risen over the last two years and consumers are still getting behind pumpkins,” agrees Bowman.
Edible pumpkins have enjoyed a good press in recent years and the vegetable’s high antioxidant levels, which have been widely reported in various women’s and food magazines, appeals to health conscious consumers.
Furthermore, Bowman believes that its uniqueness has a role to play. “Pumpkin is a different type of vegetable,” he speculates. “Us Brits like innovation and trying something new. Strong interest in pumpkin seeds also hasn’t done us any harm.”
Pumpkin seeds have reportedly enjoyed rocketing sales ever since nutritionist Dr Gillian McKeith described them as the equivalent of ‘viagra for women’.
But it is unlikely the UK will be producing any of the Omega 6-rich snack anytime soon. Although Britain is known for its pumpkin production, and sees little competition during the season, attempts to produce pumpkin seeds for the market have met with little success. “We can’t match Chinese imports - they do it best,” Bowman says. “I’ll wait until technology catches up.”
Still, the vegetable in fresh form certainly seems to have struck a chord among consumers and Miller believes that demand is growing strongly: “There’s no end of restaurants who are putting pumpkin on their menus during the autumn.”
While pumpkins have always been popular during Halloween, retailers have come to recognise that the marketing period for edible pumpkins is longer than previously thought, extending strongly through to just after Bonfire Night, Miller says.
Furthermore, he believes that with the longer marketing period, if consumers like pumpkins, they have got an opportunity to repeat the purchase at a later date.
Barfoots supplies the retail and foodservice sector and as well as its existing customers, the producer has taken on some new clients this season.
“We’ll be working with some new customers in the wholesale sector as pumpkin demand has definitely progressed into foodservice, restaurants and bars,” says Miller, adding that more establishments are keen to use seasonal themes to promote themselves.
The farm shop and the independent retail sector also offer opportunities for growth, says Tozer Seeds’ Jim Juby. “Demand in the supermarket sector appears to be fairly constant now,” he adds.
Tozer Seeds enjoyed a busy end to last month as the Surrey-based seed specialist displayed its new pumpkin and squash varieties during its open days.
“We opened the doors to all our growers on September 27-28 to come and compare and it was a big success,” Juby says. “We had a lot of interest in our new butternut squash varieties which have been bred for UK conditions. These have been in commercial trials as well as at our trial ground this year and we have had very encouraging results.”
According to Juby, another big attraction was Tozer’s range of High Sugar Squashes (HSS). “Normal squashes generally have a brix rating of 9-11 but the HSS varieties are up to 16. HSS also have deep orange internal flesh so they have great appeal to the eye.”
Juby has high hopes for the squash sector. “Demand is increasing steadily, helped by celebrity chefs raising their profile, and the opportunity for an increase in sales is massive,” he predicts. “This season we have experienced unprecedented sales in squash following a strong consumer response.”
He believes that sales could be further lifted by focusing on the health benefits and versatility of squash.
Experimenting with new pumpkin varieties is part and parcel of being an innovative grower. While Barfoots is happy with its offering, each year the producer conducts trials on new varieties. “We stick to established varieties that perform well but Barfoots is always looking at ways of improvement,” Miller says. “Barfoots has been producing pumpkins for a long time and our focus is on taste, colour, yield and shelf life. Skin quality is very important for carving pumpkins and in terms of culinary pumpkins, we obviously look at taste.”
David Bowman points out that efforts to come up with new varieties have borne little success in recent years. “We’ve not picked up anything for the last six to eight years,” he tells FPJ. “There’s lots of fancy hybrids but they tend to be very big or small and shelf life is an issue. Everyone thinks pumpkins are very hardy but they don’t keep forever.”
Coming up with new varieties that are better than their predecessors is not the only issue growers face. According to Whitworth, production has moved from a ‘market garden’ economy to an industry that uses bespoke mechanisation: “The largest growers are constantly investing in machinery and facilities to ensure the customers receive what they want, when they want it,” he says.
But it is a competitive business that’s not getting any easier. “The returns for pumpkins have decreased and as with all UK fresh produce, costs (fuel, labour and packaging) have increased,” says Whitworth. “I would guess the suppliers who are growing and packing on a small scale will eventually disappear.
“As with most core vegetables, pumpkins have become a commodity. We are dealing in economies of scale - to retain a bottom-line profit you need to increase the volume of product sold whilst getting the best yield per acre.”
Nevertheless, demand is increasing and Whitworth says that those growers who are geared towards providing large volumes of good quality product over a short amount of time are the ones who will continue to reap the rewards of increased consumption.
SPALDING’S PRIDE IN PUMPKIN PARADE
This year, Spalding’s Pumpkin Festival will take place on the spooky date of Friday October 13. Now in its fifth year, the festival attracts growing numbers of crowds keen to participate in the numerous activities.
The town of Spalding in Lincolnshire claims to be the pumpkin capital of Britain as it is home to the UK’s leading producer, David Bowman. “This year, we will donate £10,000 worth of pumpkins to local school children who will carve them up and put them on display,” says md David Bowman.
The pumpkins are used as a focal point for the festival and last year, more than 4,000 people took part. The celebrations begin with stalls selling pumpkin-based food, while window-dressing displays, street entertainers and live bands also entertain the crowds. The Grand Pumpkin Parade, which involves the local schools, is a highlight of the festival.
Organisers of the event believe it has helped change the public’s perception of pumpkins. More than 10,000 people attended last year’s festival and were given the opportunity to try out recipes containing the vegetable.
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