Food manufacturer Superior Food has built up a steady reputation in the airline catering business since chairman Mike Taylor launched the company some 25 years ago.
Listed among its clients are airline giants Gate Gourmet, LSG Sky Chefs, Air Fayre Ltd and Alpha. Catering for them and other hospitality outlets will account for around £20 million - approximately 70 per cent - of Superior’s expected turnover for 2006.
Of the remaining 30 per cent of the business, nearly two thirds is dedicated to retail and foodservice, which includes the likes of Compass and 3663. And, while, Superior continues to develop its dominant airline and hospitality division, the company is hoping to extend its retail and foodservice line, with some exciting movement in this direction already under way.
“We would never want to lose any of our existing airline clients - it is a very important business for us,” says Superior Food commercial director David Guy. “But foodservice and retail is where we would like to see some of our growth.” The company has expanded its sales team in this division to accommodate expected expansion, he adds.
Kicking off this change in direction was the recent launch of Cape Fruiteezi, in conjunction with fruit importer Capespan. Approached by Capespan’s commercial director Alistair Phillipson and his acquaintance and food innovator, Chris Grace, 18 months ago, with a brief to develop pineapple sticks, Superior Food’s NPD team took the idea and brought it to life, says Guy.
The company has invested more than £1.5m in fitting out an attractive new site a mile from its Southall headquarters, and has assembled a unique, production line, with cutting and bagging equipment sourced from Continental Europe. “It is a fully-automated system to wash-cut, peel and slice the pineapple. Then the slices are manually inserted into the specially-designed transparent packaging,” Guy explains.
The Fruiteezi development team identified pineapple as a suitable starting point after market research indicated that, although demand for pineapple is growing very fast - at 41 per cent - a lot of potential consumers are apprehensive about purchasing the fruit, owing to ignorance about how to prepare it or identify its ripeness, coupled with an aversion to the mess factor. However, Fruiteezi succeeds in eliminating all these objections, making pineapple simple, says Guy: “The MD2 pineapples we use are always sweet and perfectly ripe and the consumer can see that because of the transparency of the bag. There’s no mess or wastage involved in eating it and each 80 gramme portion counts for one of the recommended daily portions of fruit and vegetables.”
Fruiteezi has already proved to be a big hit and further contracts look imminent with big names in the retail and airline arenas, according to Guy.
However, Superior is not willing to settle for that, with customers already asking for the next product in the range. At the launch party held in July, the Cape Fruiteezi team announced its aim would be to complete the 5 A DAY theme by rolling out an additional four products under the brand and suggestions for successive lines are already on the table.
It was the birth of Fruiteezi that prompted Superior bosses to consider relocating their fresh-cut fruit division to a state-of-the art custom-built new factory, with the capacity to handle the extensive production process. After months of preparation the move was completed recently and Guy says the company is pleased to have a more aesthetically pleasing site to present to clients. “We are accredited with Grade A BRC standards and we consulted with CMi in the design,” he adds.
The company’s two other divisions, Superior Produce, for fresh-cut vegetables, and Superior Packaging, for the assembly and packaging of ready-to-eat and value-added products, remain alongside the management and administration departments at the company’s principal site. Superior Packaging, formerly devoted to manufacturing plastic cutlery for in-flight meals, now covers everything from simple cheese and cracker packs for budget airlines, to fruit platters for hospitality functions and marinated, sliced beef and salad for first class airline passengers. “Our principal objective is to do everything in-house,” says Guy. “All three divisions of the business are fully-integrated so Superior Packaging will acquire fruit and veg from the other divisions to be plated up with the protein or pasta components. All are prepared and cooked here, unless a client specifies otherwise.”
While the company deals in all manner of food items, with cheese an especially fast-growing sector, Guy says fresh produce has always been and will remain the backbone of its operations. The company handles some 20,000 tonnes of fruit and veg a year, sourced from all over the world, with the aim being to contract as close to source as possible, Guy adds. Such is the range of items the company offers that Superior’s staff can be working from as many as 7,500 specs at any one time. Client menus can alternate on a three-day, weekly, or even monthly basis and some demand a just-in-time, twice-daily delivery schedule, which means the facility is always a hive of activity.
New product development is a particularly dynamic area of the business, according to Guy and he is full of praise for the development teams in both the airline and retail/ foodservice divisions, headed by Alison Birch and Rebecca Foster, respectively.
Another recent addition to Superior’s books showing signs of promise is Foogo, the range of convenience foods introduced by One World Foods and now a familiar sight at many branches of WH Smith, as well as more established food retail venues. “There are big expansion plans for Foogo,” says Guy. “It is very smart and stylish looking and always meets with an excellent reception.”
Guy has seen Superior Food go from strength to strength since he joined the company on the production side 11 years ago, and with the relocation and potential development of its recent projects, as well as a newly-designed website, he is convinced it will see continued growth in the years to come.
“Last year we had a turnover of £22.5m, now we are on £27-28m and I wouldn’t be surprised if we push beyond £30m next year,” says Guy. “Our impression is that this new site is much more retail capable, which is a direction we want to move in. I think we are all set up to do that now - we are all very excited about it.”
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