Setting out his stall not long into our interview at Fresca HQ, group CEO Ian Craig states: “I’m competitive by nature, and I want to be number one in the FPJ Big 50.”
Fighting talk indeed, but the Arsenal FC fanatic has the fresh produce weaponry with which to buttress such claims.Craig, a self-confessed petrolhead, has formally been in the Fresca driving seat for seven months, having taking on CEO duties from executive chairman Chris Mack. However, he only really started his new position in October while he waited for his successor as MD at Fresca Group JV Thanet Earth, Des Kingsley, to start in that job.
Craig says: “My new role is great, it’s been really enjoyable. I’ve worked in the business for more than 10 years, so I know the businesses, but getting out there in more formal, less board-style visits has been fantastic.”
While some business leaders begin life at the wheel of an organisation gunning for far-reaching transformation, Craig isn’t seeking a revolution: “I have no intention of making radical changes,” he says. “I’ve been on the board for 10 years, so the strategy we’re following is a stable strategy, and it’s just a matter of making sure that it goes in the right direction, and giving all the businesses the support they need.
“Top of my to-do list differs by the business, as they all have different requirements. There’s Manor Fresh, for example, which has had a big capital investment, that’s going well, and it’s supporting other businesses that perhaps have challenges in terms of building more business with their other customers. It’s not a big, long list of red-letter requirements – it’s all about continuity, largely.”
Nevertheless, long-term, Craig is keen to make his mark, and has mapped out the road ahead of him in his bid to leapfrog Total Produce and top the FPJ Big 50. He says: “I’d like the business to continue to grow its share of the UK produce market in all of the categories we operate in. I’d like us to be seen as a business that’s involved in the whole chain. Our more recent strategic investments in things like Thanet Earth, and in Wallings Nursery with our strawberry growing partnership, those are important to me, as it’s about having sustainable food production.
“I’d also like us to become an even more important part of our customers’ businesses. We’ve come from an era of produce being supplied to retailers in categories by maybe four or five suppliers. That’s going to reduce in terms of the number of suppliers, and I want us to be part of those supply chains, and even more important to our customers.”
Despite this aim, Craig stresses: “I want to help our business units maintain their identity. We don’t just call everything by the overarching Fresca name – we want the individual businesses to retain their names in the eyes of their customers and suppliers, because those partnerships are very important.”
One of the most striking aspects of the industry over the last year has been the high level of M&A activity, as fresh produce firms look to consolidate in a tough market. But the Fresca Group, renowned for its highly-regarded JVs, such as the aforementioned Thanet Earth, plus Manor Fresh and MMG Citrus, has deliberately steered away from acquisitions in recent times, according to its CEO, who says it will look to build its business by cultivating customer relationships.
He adds: “There’s a dynamic in the industry at the moment where volume is flat or in decline, and therefore I want to instill a principle of being competitive in our business in terms of taking business where we can to build our volumes, and that business will have to come from somebody else. To do that, we have to have the very best growers working with us.
“On top of that, we’re spending more time with locally-based sourcing teams, as opposed to having a large number of technical managers in Paddock Wood sitting in an office nowhere near the product. Our sourcing teams are very important to our strategy. I want to make sure in, say, the next five years, that they’ve got the full support from us here, and the understanding of what the market requires so we get the right product in.”
As he prepares to progress through the gears, Craig emphasises: “I’m very proud to be part of this organisation, and its CEO. We’re in a good, stable position at the moment, and we want to use that as a platform to moveforward.”
Craig's list: Fresca CEO on...
JVs
“By nature, JVs are collaborative. And this is an industry where we are all under pressure from margins. So the only way to deliver the results that we all want is to be collaborative rather than confrontational.”
Direct sourcing
“There’s no denying direct sourcing has had an effect on us, as some of our businesses have been changed by direct sourcing by their customers. I think in our early approach to it, we saw it as a threat. Now, though, we see it as another business model, and we have to work out how we play a part in that model.”
Wholesale
“Wholesale is a very resilient and strong part of our business, and one that every time I’ve visited in the last six months, I’ve come away smiling. You witness a pure buying and selling relationship. We have three businesses that are in a good place right now for different reasons, and for the future too.
Discounters
“The discounters represent a huge challenge to the traditional large-scale retailers. They have a value proposition that’s challenging. We must find ways in our business model to give the value our customers now want. I’m concerned some products of ours are being delivered to customers below the cost of distribution, and that’s not sustainable. And given the global competition for some of those products, if you can get a better price for Product A from China, your loyalty to the UK market won’t stay around for very long.”
C-stores
“We’re working to see how we can develop specific ranges of fresh produce for convenience, clearly recognising that they have to deliver the value per square metre in store for the retailers. In some cases, they’re quite expensive units.”
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