Increasing consumer demand for washed and sliced mushrooms, as well as a booming market within the food service industry, providing retailers with an increasing range of ready meals is expected to bring about major market changes, according to Ton Derks, Chairman of Heveco Mushrooms, based in Thakeham, West Sussex.
Derks believes that the time has arrived when more and more ready-to-use sliced fresh mushrooms will appear in sealed bags on retail shelves.
Apart from being easier to handle than the traditional punnet, bags could also be made re-sealable and improve freshness. Derks also points to added-value marketing opportunities by combining mushroom bags with a range of sauces to create additional interest, nutritional benefits and encourage increased consumption.
Heveco is positioning itself to drive and benefit from an expansion in the sector it foresees as demand grows from the processing industry for mushrooms as an integral part of ready meals. The company has planned multi-million pound investment over the next three years to meet the demand as well as increasing UK production to satisfy "grown locally" needs.
"Not only will this investment boost production of fresh and prepared mushrooms for the UK, but will also lead to potential orders from the Continent," says Mike Pimlott, UK operations director.
Part of the investment has been used to enhance Heveco’s processing plant with multihead weigher and vertical form-filling machines, preparing white and brown mushrooms with various sliced and diced dimensions.
Specifications range from 180g pre-packs for retail stores, to 4kg bags and crates for food processors in more than 20 combinations.
"Sliced mushrooms are appealing more and more to retailers because of their total traceability, convenience and enhanced hygiene," said Derks.
No comments yet