A former Tesco buyer has set up an “unorthodox” new company designed to create blue-chip fresh produce companies that can re-energise and gear themselves towards the modern market.
Jonathan Corbett, former root vegetable buyer for Tesco, who has also worked for Sainsbury’s, Asda and Marks & Spencer, has set up The Little Big Voice to work on fresh produce PR, market research and brand development.
Corbett’s one-stop shop ultimately aims for produce suppliers to achieve growth in line with that of the retailers, while also working with the retail world in developing the sector.
The company, which officially launched this month, will also look to address the key issue which continues to dominate the produce industry - the clash between agricultural and retail attitudes to modern produce sale.
Corbett told freshinfo: “Taking fresh produce, for example, a large percentage of the senior management and directors within the retailers have not come from an agricultural background. The model for these departments now resembles that seen in the fast-moving consumer goods world. Although the growing side of fresh produce will always remain important, commercial focus and excellence now hold the key to business growth.
“Retailers have been able to switch the way in which they operate almost overnight - repositioning of staff in key areas has caught many suppliers on the hop. We are now at the stage where the supply base is realising this and trying to play catch-up.
“A new way of thinking is required. The majority of major retailers are now FTSE companies. The aspiration of each supplier should now equal the growth seen within the sector. From looking at their branding through to account approach, presentation, delivery and innovation - there is a lot of work to be done. But done in the correct way it will harness greater profitability, ongoing growth and respect from it customer.”
Corbett added that his experience and knowledge from his three years at Tesco would prove key to the business’s success: “The focus they put on suppliers, staff and most of all customers, along with a constant energy for growth into new markets, was astounding.”
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