Britain is more culturally diverse than ever before, with ethnic minorities constituting nearly eight percent of the population in 2001. Nine out of 10 members of ethnic communities consider their cuisine to be an important part of their lives, according to a 2006 World Food Market report. And, as ethnic populations increase at a faster rate than indigenous populations, the market for ethnic foods is predicted to grow 25 percent by 2010.
The good news for the fresh produce industry is that fruit and vegetables are often integral to the diets and culinary traditions held by these communities, with cooking from scratch prevalent.
Wholesale markets, particularly those located in major cities, can testify to the value of the ‘ethnic’ market, which has offered some a lifeline in the wake of the supermarkets’ monopoly. A 2002 review of London wholesale markets revealed that 41 percent of trading space at New Spitalfields Market deals in so-called exotic produce. The market’s former superintendent recently told London Food Link (LFL), an organisation which seeks to increase the availability of sustainable food in London, that more than 80 percent of the market’s sales were to ethnic community food businesses, such as retailers and restaurants.
Supermarkets too are responding to a growing market for ethnic food and stocking a range of exotic produce to satisfy both ethnic communities and an increasingly open-minded customer-base. The influence of multiculturalism and foreign travel has seen Britain’s tastes change dramatically in recent years, with ‘ethnic’ food, notably Chinese and Indian cuisines, arguably the most popular type in the UK, according to a 2006 Mintel study. And the number of ethnic restaurants is continuing to rise.
But concerns over food miles also seem to be having an impact on the sector. The Mintel report revealed some 25 percent of ethnic restaurant goers wanted to see a greater use of fresh, local ingredients. Ethnic businesses in turn are starting to see the value of being more communicative about their supply chains as a way to market their products.
Add to this the cost and the sometimes poor shelf life of imported exotic produce, and a significant opportunity for UK growers to produce some of these ethnic vegetables on home turf emerges.
“There’s definitely a drive for healthier food with a higher nutritional content, which is fresh and hasn’t had to travel so far and be stored for so long,” says Zeenat Anjari, project officer at LFL and author of the Recipe for a Greener Curry report, which examines the use of sustainable foods in ethnic communities. “When we asked people whether they would be interested in food that was traditional in a mother country and perhaps not traditional here, but could be grown here, they didn’t mind as long as it tasted right. I think that is a real opportunity for exotic produce that can be grown here and tastes better.”
Asda seems to have has picked up on this trend. Last month the retailer announced a campaign to grow ‘all the ingredients needed for a good curry’ - usually found in much hotter climes - in the UK.
Initial trials will concentrate on doodhi, mooli, baby aubergines and karela in temperature-controlled glasshouses in both Lancashire and Lincolnshire to widen knowledge about what can be grown in different UK locations. Varieties have been chosen to enable crops to thrive in the UK’s climate, according to the chain, and plans are underway to later produce okra and mustard seed. “My original thought was to challenge our current growers and to try something different,” Chris Wibberley, the fresh produce technologist behind the campaign, tells Commercial Grower. He reveals a number of motivating factors for the new venture, including significantly decreasing air miles; increasing UK growers’ portfolios and volumes to help offset ever-increasing energy costs; and getting fresher products for ethnic and UK consumers.
Seeds for the trials are available for planting now and Wibberley expects growing times of around 16 weeks per crop, however, nothing is a certainty at this stage. “I have to admit this will be a learning process for all concerned,” he says. “I am hopeful that by July/August we will have some product on our shelves for Asda customers… Ethnic vegetables are not really grown in the UK, it’s only recently during the last few years that chillies have been grown. This is an opportunity to have a go at being the first at almost all the ethnic lines.”
Asda may be tackling some exotic varieties new to UK shores, but as well as chillies there is already a range of ethnic veg, such as pak choi, mooli and callaloo, being successfully grown here.
Some are sceptical over whether UK growers can fully capitalise on the ethnic vegetable market. Certainly if a heavy dependence on artificial heat and light was needed to cultivate more challenging varieties, it could mitigate any cost or environmental benefits of producing them on home soil.
Leading exotics supplier Wealmoor imports a wide range of vegetables from around the globe for supermarket customers. It also grows ethnic produce, such as herbs, Chinese greens, palak and mooli, on its own farms in the UK. The company’s Mark Horton says that, if possible, ethnic vegetables should be grown locally. However, a variety of vegetables, including a range of gourdes and baby aubergines, are more questionable as the energy needed to grow them, and the resultant eating quality of indoor-produced product, does not make obvious sense. “Leafy vegetables and herbs can definitely be produced, and we already do that; we also grow mooli, but the majority of the other vegetables are outdoor products that need to be grown in hot climates. They are by definition tropical or sub-tropical products,” he says.
One concern is whether, produced indoors,UK-grown veg can offer the discerning ethnic market an authentic taste. “[They] are very particular in terms of flavours and tastes, and you will never get the same flavour in a product which is grown in an English glasshouse,” he says. “It’s not the same as natural sun; something that’s grown on the slopes of a hill in a mineral soil in the sunshine is obviously going to take up the flavour of where it’s grown. I think they will lose something of the essence of the product in trying to produce it here.”
Colin Hill, owner of Valley Produce, based near Reading, has built up a steady trade in UK-produced ethnic vegetables. He, like a handful of other producers in the UK, grows a range of specialist leafy vegetables for Asian markets - around 100 acres of green pak choi, white pak choi, choi sum and mustard. All are grown outside under covers and are supplied to Chinese wholesalers, the catering industry, and third-party packers serving supermarkets. He also grows a variety of herbs for the Indian market, as well as a range of baby-leaf products, spinach, red chard and baby lettuce.
Ethnic lines make up more than a third of the company’s production and are now core to his business. “We started out growing herbs for the ethnic market first, mainly for the Indian market, before growing spinach for packers. That led onto babyleaf and then I got involved with a Chinese restaurateur, who took me into the Chinese market,” he explains.
But penetrating the well-established and often tight-knit ethnic supply chains is not straightforward, he warns. “It’s extremely hard to get into. The Chinese market is orientated around Chinese people. And the Indian market is very much dominated by Indians themselves, so you’ve got to actually have something to offer them that they want.”
Many members of ethnic communities with horticultural expertise currently use their own urban growing projects to provide local residents, and even restaurants, with the range and volume of produce they need.
While there are some good examples of successful relationships between ethnic communities and local growers in parts of the UK, such as the Midlands, there seems to be less of a connection between these groups in the south, according to Anjari.
She thinks that improved communication and a greater awareness of the requirements of different cultures could provide the key to ethnic markets for UK growers.
Ethnic festivals could present a substantial source of demand for produce at certain times of the year, for example. And there are fantastic networks present in faith buildings, many of which have their own kitchens and act as a social epicentre for communities, which growers could tap into. “There’s definitely a good opportunity for UK growers, but links have to be made, she says. “It’s only through communicating with ethnic businesses that they can perhaps talk to suppliers and align production and get some facts and figures as to volume and demand.”
When Valley Produce was set up some 17 years ago it was able to offer such markets a desirable combination of good volumes and continuity, according to Hill. The company’s close proximity to London was an advantage, as was the establishment of a reliable customer base, which helped to offset the risk of diversifying. “We were still taking a risk though,” Hill says. “We were trying to grow products we didn’t know a huge amount about. And you were never guaranteed a market, although you knew you were going somewhere with it; you didn’t know how much volume you were going to sell - you had an idea and you had to make some assumptions and we built on it from there really.”
Hill says that working out what the market wanted in terms of size and packaging was part of a steep learning curve in the early days. And managing crops that are extremely sensitive, was tricky to master. “They’re very volatile and they’re very prone to pest and disease; when they want harvesting, they want harvesting; and you also have to make sure you correctly programme the market so it dovetails with demand, otherwise you waste an awful lot of product, as we have done in the past,” he says.
Asda’s Wibberley is prepared for a variety of difficulties. “Pests could be an issue,” he says. “It will be interesting to see what insects are attracted to the news crops. Also, shelf life [could be a problem], although we will take three to four days out of the delivery times, which should increase shelf life for our customers. We are anticipating they will be quicker grown in the UK so we need to understand how this affects the structure of crops,” he explains.
Get it right and growing a more niche portfolio of produce can be rewarding, Hill says, although it does not necessarily guarantee you make a better margin overall. “The Chinese market is growing and the herb market has grown year on year. As it grows, [products] become more of a commodity and the price goes down. As you get economies of scale you become more vulnerable to a reduction in price. While there is a small niche market, your prices are higher, and margins are probably similar because it’s more difficult to manage and more time consuming.”
Hill himself is now looking to expand his range and is trialling mooli and Chinese chives. “The main thing is to make sure you’ve got somewhere to sell it,” he says. “Unless you’ve got a home for the product you’re going to grow at a price that can make you a margin so you can survive, I wouldn’t go there. If you can get a market you can work with and make a margin at a price that is sustainable for everyone, then I think it’s a good thing.”
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