As a customer-led supermarket, Tesco aims to market locally grown potatoes to local customers and runs campaigns with growers to promote potatoes in season. Senior fresh vegetable buying manager Roy Maynard communicates daily with his main suppliers, to discuss and plan marketing campaigns, potato varieties and provisions. “Supermarkets are often misunderstood - a good working relationship between supplier and grower is a good recipe for success,’ he says. “This is the difference between old-style trading when the buyer dictated to the supplier. Now we talk about consumer trends, marketing themes and how to develop business - not just about price.”
Maynard explains that Tesco recognised it had a good team in terms of retailer, packer and grower and could deliver to its customers what they wanted. “One example is the solid increase seen in the Cornish potato business. We not only supply Cornish and local south west customers with what they want, but we have also managed to cut back on imports, supply other Tesco stores in other parts of the country and give back the benefits to British agriculture.”
The success of the Maris Peer came about because a Tesco buyer, grower and supplier sat around and talked about the new potato business and how to improve it. The multiple was asked why did it stop supplying the variety in October and switch to Italian grown potatoes when the Maris Peer variety, if stored properly, maintains its good flavour. So why not extend the season? “We researched the idea by running customer surveys, trialed it and moved the marketing into October, then November until it was pushed into February, but always mindful of maintaining the flavour and the shelf life. And that is a now a huge success story.” UK packhouses working with the retailer are supportive of Tesco themes and vice-versa.
Tesco’s potato market share is 26 per cent, selling 350,000t of potatoes a year. Branston supplies the retailer with 40 per cent of its total supply, which is 3,000t a week. “From Branston’s perspective, we didn’t feel so close to the Tesco customer,” says Tesco account manager Jo Parish, “but now we know what Tesco’s values are and how they want to service their customers. They leave us to manage the majority of the local campaigns because we know what they want, and they have confidence in the relationship.”
Parish explains that today, the buyer, supplier and grower all share market and customer information so that all prepared for any changes during the season, and are able to plan ahead for market trends. “My role is to bring the retailer closer to grower by feeding the grower thoughts back to Tesco. We had a good supplier launch this year; Cornish potatoes were launched by the local grower into the Cornish stores, and we also played a big part in promoting the fresh product to customers with in-store cooking demonstrations,” she continues. “Successful growers are forward thinking and grow for a specific market - gone are the days that they would grow a crop and then tout it round. Now the grower knows where the crop is going, and has the Tesco customer in mind.”
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