There’s no doubting that both consumer tastes and eating habits have changed over the years and will continue to do so.

Sunday lunch, supported by a plentiful choice of vegetables, was once the staple of family life, with bubble and squeak to follow on a Monday. It might not quite be consigned to the pages of history, but it now competes with pasta and curry, often in ready meal format.

Salads in bags and bowls also reflect the trend for lighter meals and come in never-ending combinations.

Coupled with indications that both the consumption of many traditional brassicas and roots is declining, and with the added concern that these are being retailed at rock bottom prices, UK producers are having to make decisions over what to grow for future profitability.

While having to meet current demands, there is also the expected need to plan ahead to anticipate and create new trends and influence tastes. Many arrivals naturally enough start out as novelties, with some of the most recent examples being purple asparagus, black carrots and striped tomatoes. Initially, these enhance the niche market and, one must assume, provide a level of farmgate price stability, with the possible promise of the potential for controlled expansion.

But experience has shown that it can be a fine balance, where timing for the lucky producers has been critical. For example, when iceberg lettuce was first grown in the UK having been introduced from America, sales were initially slow. But as the non-waste, long-life variety began to compete with butterhead and cos, it subsequently gave rise to an explosion of product in the market.

If at least most vegetables have the advantage of allowing a rapid switch, fruit growing is even more hazardous because of the timescales involved. There are plenty of examples in the Brogdale orchard library of excellent varieties which enjoyed brief periods of popularity but, like comets racing across the sky, disappeared from view in a short space of time.

And today, whatever the product, the UK still imports a great deal of its fresh produce and has to compete with excellent growers worldwide who are backed by the technology to store and extend shelf life.

At a time when cost is king, being branded British is not always enough. Fortunately, there are benefits which have lead to winners this side of the Channel, as evidenced by the transposition of varieties which have successfully altered the shape of entire industries. Gala and Braeburn, for instance, originated in New Zealand but are now major UK varieties.

One thing certain is the pace will continue to quicken, probably hastened by climate change. It will be the survival of who can provide a complete service to retail customers, which now includes being able to withstand the pressure of having to come up with a never-ending stream of new ideas.

Topics