Demand has been very high for salad products during the last quarter, with exotic lettuce types such as lollo rosso, oakleaf, endive and frisée from France and Spain all fetching a good price on the UK market. Peppers have also experienced a surge in demand, as well as traditional favourites cucumber and tomatoes.
As demand for exotic lettuce increases, iceberg lettuce has seen a massive decline in interest. With iceberg crops in the south of Spain subjected to severe wind and rain, quality and shelf life have been inconsistent. Iceberg supply has been described as “a rollercoaster” this quarter, with wholesale prices dropping as low as 100p for 10s.
“It has been difficult to sell iceberg since the New Year and, across Europe, sales have dropped by 15 per cent,” says one supplier. “We have had problems with breakdown; butts have been going brown, and leaves are becoming mushy within 24 hours of the product being in store.
“People are getting bored with iceberg, and lettuce like coarse frisée is increasing in popularity. Caterers, in particular, want lettuce to be attractive and fill the plate and, although iceberg fits the bill, frisée has a stronger, better taste.”
Some insiders have seen demand for frisee - both fine and coarse - rise by up to 50 per cent, and have put the increase down to TV cookery programmes such as Saturday Kitchen and Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook, singing the praises of exotic lettuce.
Production of such lettuce types has also increased, both in the UK and Europe. One insider reports that he has almost doubled his lines in baby leaf, rocket and frisée lettuce to cope with anticipated demand.
Current demand for different types of lettuce in the UK has been met more consistently by increased stock coming from France. According to one supplier, French growers have come on leaps and bounds in the last three years, and UK standards are now being met more consistently by French lettuce coming into the country. “This is why this part of the salad job is increasing, because we now have good product to satisfy the demand,” explains one insider.
Pepper supply has caused a stir in the sector, with product proving hard to source. With the quality of Spanish peppers generally poor and new-season Dutch product in short supply, many suppliers have been bringing larger volumes into the UK from Israel, resulting in prices escalating. “Quality of end-of-season peppers from Spain really has been chalk and cheese this quarter,” says one insider. “We have had to airfreight green peppers into the UK from Israel, as if we ship them in, their colour changes by the time they get here. It has made them very expensive.”
The quality of Spanish cucumbers coming in to the UK is also mixed, according to insiders. And suppliers are just making do with small product until the start of the English season, which is expected to begin in the first week of May.
Despite problems with breakdown in the first week after Christmas, the year to date has seen a good tomato season in Morocco, with top-quality beef and cherry vine tomatoes making a particular impact. Spanish and French product has been available, but Moroccan tomatoes have proven to be of both high quality and value. Demand for cherry and cherry vine tomatoes in the UK has doubled, compared to this time last year, and beef tomatoes are increasing steadily. It is only the traditional loose 57s-67s that are losing out in the tomato job, with sales down by 15 per cent compared to last year.
But the sector is uneasy and, with predictions of a cold snap on the way in the UK and snow affecting some areas, no-one wants to declare spring a success for lettuce crops just yet. The winter season was disastrous for most lettuce growers, and predictions of doom and gloom are rife.
In general, the Spanish lettuce season has offered good quality up until now, but after months of plentiful supply, insiders fear the market will tighten. “It could get a bit tight towards the end of the Spanish season, and we will have to see what the weather does in the spring,” says one grower. “The warm weather in late March and early April did the lettuce crop good, but that has changed over night and, if we have more snow and rain, the English season could be a week or so later than normal.”
This year’s English lettuce crop is on track, according to growers, despite fears of the changeable weather causing a late season. “We have had odd days of bad weather that have held back the crops under glass, as good light levels are as important as heat,” says one grower.
Delicate lettuce types, such as lollo rosso, are struggling due to low light levels, and under-fleece crops have been affected by rain and wind damage. Cos, however, has survived the contrary conditions well.
Demand was low for lettuce last year, but this quarter has brought with it a healthly interest in lettuce. This bodes well for the summer season, according to growers. “We now have better packs, with more varieties and different mixes, as well as using value-added leaves, such as herbs, wild rocket and spinach,” says one insider. “Hopefully, we can look forward to a good season; we need it.”
As demand soars, most insiders believe that prices will follow. “Prices are going to shoot up,” says one insider. “Some growers will dig their heels in; after last year’s bad weather, they are going to try and recover. We all hope that there will not be a repeat of last year, where we had to search the world for produce.”
Talk of consumers tightening their purse strings does not seem to worry the salad sector, although some suppliers have already seen orders decline. But as one door closes, another opens. “There has generally been a good demand this quarter,” says one supplier. “There is talk of a credit crunch and some caterers, in particular, are reducing the stock they buy.
“But we are working more with discounters now and I think that is a sign of things to come. Consumers are more and more looking towards Aldi or Lidl. Their fresh produce range has really changed in the last two years, and offers good quality.”
WATERCRESS REFRESHED BY PR
The UK watercress industry has been completely revitalised since The Watercress Alliance formed and launched a watercress PR campaign, says Wendy Akers of Wendy Akers PR, which promotes the salad product for the company.
Sales of watercress went into decline in 2002, and dropped by 11 per cent year on year. Due to the introduction of many exotic-looking salad leaves on the UK market, watercress had turned from being a staple food, to a product that people perceived as boring.
It was then that key players in the UK watercress industry - Alresford Salads, Vitacress Salads and The Watercress Company - got together to form The Watercress Alliance, and set up a marketing campaign with us. We developed the strap line, “Watercress - Not Just a Bit on the Side”, which conveys, in a fun way, that watercress is too nutritionally important to be regarded as just a garnish to throw away.
The campaign kicked off in 2003, and has been hugely successful. The number of consumers buying watercress has doubled in the last five years, from three million households to 6m. We have also managed to double retail sales, from £30m to £60m, over that time period.
This has been achieved by a comprehensive PR campaign, which has reached food writers, radio stations and TV presenters, as well as bringing onboard celebrity chefs, such as Antony Worrall Thompson.
The Watercress Alliance has also sponsored university research into the health benefits of watercress. This year, the company is launching a new cancer research project, investigating watercress’s anti-cancer potential to combat breast cancer. The clinical study is due to complete in October 2009 and will be led by the University of Southampton.
This year is the 200th anniversary of the first commercial watercress farm opening in the UK and, as part of the celebration, The Watercress Alliance has published a book, simply named Watercress, with a foreward by Worrall Thompson. The new book targets consumers, and includes a history of watercress production, as well as 30 recipes.
Every year, we run the National Watercress Week to celebrate the watercress season, as well as the Watercress Festival in Hampshire. This year will mark the sixth Watercress Festival, which kicks off the National Watercress Week on Sunday, May 11. It really is a success story of what PR can do for the fresh produce sector.
The production of watercress has been steady this quarter, and The Watercress Alliance grows as much product as it can in Hampshire and Dorset - the heart of watercress production in the UK.
Because watercress production relies on the sun to grow, production naturally slows down in the winter. The bad weather last year did not help the industry and slowed down growth; it was a difficult year for growers in the UK. The Watercress Alliance’s farms in Spain, Portugal and Florida mean that it can cope with demand, but in the UK, as for most salad crops, last year was difficult.
Demand for watercress has been phenomenal in the last couple of years, and this has not subsided in the last quarter. Consumers have recognised that watercress is a superfood, and it is now a regular in mixed-leaf salad bags.
It has been a buoyant quarter for the watercress industry. It is now gearing up for one of the busiest times of the year, and is ready to welcome the new season.
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