Set up 14 years ago by two grower families, Mann and Watkins, the collaborative direction taken recently has helped Waveney Mushrooms survive the traumas that have served to reshape the industry.
“Farms have been simply going broke due to increased cheap competition from imports,” says Jon Fuller, marketing manager, who was recruited to find solutions after a career in the broader food industry.
The company’s weekly harvest amounts to around 150,000lb. Three farms specialise in closed white cup, two in flats and the other in chestnuts - all are linked to specific customers. It is to the credit of the co-op - in the face of static sales across the sector - production has actually increased by some seven per cent recently to meet demand.
Waveney reports good demand from all quarters from multiples, caterers, processors and the wholesale markets, where mushrooms are sold under its own brand in cardboard baskets, from Birmingham to Kent. Tradition dies hard - Fuller says that Waveney is probably the last company to market a proportion of its crop in this format of packaging.
Packing is not centralised, as grower David Mann still believes that one of the secrets of success is individual commitment. “However, the move to work together obviously had specific advantages,” he adds. “We have been able to introduce some economies of scale, such as collective purchasing.”
At a time when growers generally see higher yields from the same bed area as the only way to keep costs down, Mann believes that greater collectivity is the route that smaller growers will have to follow to survive.
“It has allowed us to achieve costs which are probably lower than the larger scale companies,” he adds.
One problem that the group will not face for at least six months is increased labour costs, following the recent High Court judgement in favour of Middlebrook Mushrooms and against the Agricultural Wages Board. The case granted the mushroom industry specific exclusion from the new manual harvest worker category for short-term workers.
“We always felt it was harsh that we should be associated with the large-scale agricultural industry which is low on labour while we are highly intensive,” says Mann. “The effect is now that we will be able to better relate rates to performance, but it is still a great concern to us all.”
While the Waveney business has some protection through the diversity of its sales base, Mann is critical of the multiple sector and an over-riding attitude that constantly seeks to drive prices down and is prepared to substitute home production with imported product to achieve this aim.
“We try and talk to the buyers, but there is less understanding than say 20 years ago,” he claims. For Mann, the bright white mushrooms that made him proud to be a grower are sadly often absent from the retail equation.
“The result,” he says, “is that the [lack of] quality often seen on the shelves is caused through poor handling, and extended shelf life is probably having a detrimental effect on consumption.”
Longer term he is concerned with the impact of new EU member states, and particularly Poland, fearing that the extension of the EU to 25 members could represent the beginning of another import cycle which could duplicate the effect that Irish and Dutch growers had on the UK industry 20 years ago.
Those effects are still being felt and Mann asks for realism in the minds of buyers to safeguard against a repeat dose. “We hope that our customers will realise that it will take at least an extra day to send product so it will never be as fresh,” he stresses.
WAITROSE INVESTS AT LECKFORD
Waitrose has recently added semi-automated harvesting equipment to the mushroom farm at its Leckford Estate.
“The last two weeks has been something of a roller coaster,” says Mike Ewin, commercial manager at Leckford Estate, as he watches 250g punnets which will appear on the shelves within 24 hours being continuously filled with pristine white closed cups.
The difference is that the majority are now being mechanically trimmed, graded and weighed straight from the beds, having been hand picked.
The mobile processing units (MPUs) are manufactured in Ulster by Axis Systems. They are moved along between the beds where the harvested mushrooms are gently placed by pickers on a conveyor belt in the first stage which completes a previously manual job.
“It means less handling and less bruising. In fact the crop is not touched until it is opened by the customer,” he says.
Steve Newton, harvesting and production manager, estimates that the machines have a work rate of around 80lb hour, already double the rate of trimming with a knife. “We would expect with practice to be able to reach up to 120lb,” he says.
“The MPUs are capable of grading to six different specifications at one time, an added bonus when production is in full swing and the inevitable flushes occur and we are stretched,” adds Justin Coleman, harvesting and packhouse manager.
The punnets are then checked visually for appearance and finally check-weighed prior to being wrapped and labelled with Waitrose’s own Leckford brand and the LEAF certification label, awarded this year.
“The majority of mushrooms move straight through the system. The machine is so accurate only two per cent or less have to be corrected,“ Newton adds.
The facilities on the farm have also benefited from a major investment, subsequent to Waitrose taking over the responsibility for the Estate two years ago.
For example, new offices including quality control laboratories have been installed. The growing cells, as they are called, have been reorganised to match the eight-week growing cycle needed from the time the growing beds are filled with spawned compost to the moment of picking.
Compost once came from material on the Estate, but now the production scale is too large. However, supplier Tunnel Tech, which meets the demand for 100 tonnes a week, is literally on the doorstep.
Leckford supplies about a third of Waitrose mushroom needs. “We concentrate on closed white cup,” says Ewin.
The lorries loaded with IFCO’s depart nightly for the stores two depots at Bracknell and Brinklow, and also service Ocado.
Leckford is also subject to the same rigorous quality checks as other category suppliers. “We have always regarded mushroom growing as a specialised and professional business which has to be increasingly concerned with quality,” says Ewin. The installation of new grading machines illustrates his point perfectly.
SWEET SMELL OF SHII-TAKE
For some a walk in the woods is a pleasant way to while away an afternoon, but for Mike De Stroumillo it led to a life-changing passion which would see him quit the glamorous world of television for a career selling mushrooms.
A quiet stroll through Scottish woodland for the television producer eventually led to the founding of Wild Harvest, a company specialising in wild and exotic mushrooms from both the UK and around the world.
“I found myself spending more and more time out of the office and in the woods, and thought if you can do something you really enjoy, you’re more likely to make a success of it.”
As a result, since the company launched 10 years ago, it now employs around 30 people and supplies around 600 organisations ranging from leading hotels and restaurants to top end retailers such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
However, the wild mushroom business is not an easy sector to operate in, says De Stroumillo. “It’s a very variable business. Volumes can range from substantial truck loads to pallet loads.”
He says the company has been forced to expand into other products such as pumpkins and potatoes, as it is difficult to build a business on something that “is there one year, but might not be there the next.”
In particular, he says the sector has been experiencing problems world-wide due to erratic weather conditions, with few countries unaffected.
In the UK, the wild mushroom season has got off to an early start, with trompette beginning to appear ahead of the autumn, a fact De Stroumillo puts partly down to rainfall.
He says the market is becoming increasingly mature, and the UK market has hit something of a dip.
“A lot of the restaurants have become much more price conscious as chefs are becoming more aware of margins and are under greater pressure.”
However, there are opportunities for growth in the UK, and De Stroumillo sees manufacturing as one such area.
“One of the reasons for moving offices to New Covent Garden was to gain BRC accreditation to supply the manufacturing companies,” he says.
He sees an opportunity to grow demand among consumers through the use of wild mushrooms in ready meals and availability in more mainstream outlets.
“The retailers tried with wild mushrooms but they got it wrong as there wasn’t the consumer demand. It was too early. People are still asking how do you cook it, and there’s still the old wives tales which say things like you have to cook it with a silver spoon to take the poison out!”
He says there is also an opportunity to grow demand throughout the UK, outside of the M25 and home counties areas.
On the supply front, he says the old Eastern bloc countries have improved considerably over the past few years, with companies becoming more professional and supplying good quality product which has been cleaned and graded.
“We’re also seeing a big increase in exotic oriental product such as shemijii, nameko and enkoi which are being used more and more in the catering sector due to their consistent quality.”
FEEL THE PINCH
When it comes to price pressure on mushrooms, the manufacturing sector is not immune, says Edward Gough, md of Beacon Foods.
“Our sector is no different to any of the other markets. Pressure on price is being passed back down the line. It’s a hard time and margins are very small.”
Beacon Foods is an award winning fresh and exotics ingredient specialist which supplies both raw and cooked mushrooms to manufacturers ranging from airline meal providers to sandwich fillers and ready meal suppliers.
Innovation is key, says Gough, but even those who innovate and aim for the higher ground are feeling the pinch.
“We’re doing a lot of added value products, and they’re not going on top of a 99p pizza, but even the higher value end is coming under pressure. It doesn’t seem to be getting any better, the horizon is not very bright at the moment.”
While the situation is not conducive to investing in product development, Beacon is determined to stay ahead of the competition and is constantly working on developing new and exciting ranges at its state of art factory in the Brecon Beacons.
“We’re developing a range of Thai and tandoori flavoured roasted mushrooms, similar to our garlic offering, but giving them a different flavour profile, although we’re still working on developing those.
“But investing in product development is expensive, it certainly doesn’t come cheap and it’s difficult when you don’t have the margins.”
In terms of market trends, he says they’ve experienced a significant surge in demand for wild mushrooms, particularly the shii-take variety. He says new products are always popular as well, and a good way to boost business.
“We do like new products it gives us the chance to offer things to our customers and keep us ahead of the competition.”
He says with increasing focus on price, the key to success in the mushroom sector is simply down to efficiency.
“You’ve got to be efficient. We’re doing our best to keep on going as we are and keep coming up with good quality innovative products and good service. People might be prepared to pay that little bit more for peace of mind.”
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