It is well known that the prepared fruit and vegetable industry had to take a step back when the recession hit. As multiples concentrated on cheap and cheerful offers, variety on the prepared fruit and vegetable shelves dwindled in an effort to avoid wastage.
But all the signs are that prepared is back: a new pineapple stick has been introduced to Tesco, Tender Green Medleys are being stocked in Sainsbury’s and pre-chopped onions are making a reappearance. Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 52 weeks to 13 June show an 8.1 per cent increase in sales to £892 million and a greater purchase frequency of prepared fruit and vegetables.
There is definitely a change in the air, and suppliers are talking in much more optimistic terms. “Now there is a slightly different feel to things,” says one fruit supplier to processors. “There is a feeling that things are starting to get better. The expensive ranges are coming back on the shelves. Retailers are really getting involved in their premium ranges again and they are being heavily promoted.
“For more than a year now financial hardship has hung over our heads in this sector. Cheaper ranges have ruled and the prepared fruit and vegetable industry has had to reflect this by cutting variety. It is going to get a lot better from now on.”
Apples, grapes and mangoes are now firmly back on the shelves along with the staple melon and pineapple offer, as well as mixed summer packs and a new star to enter the prepared arena, cherries.
The product is hardly a fresh-cut offer by definition, but the addition of it has added value and interest in the sub-sector. Without the stone removed and in some cases with the stalk, cherries have been part of the prepared fruit mixed packs in the supermarkets and the likes for the last four weeks and in some instances, in a snack pack as a singular product.
“We cannot remove the stones from the cherries and still have the overall product intact,” explains one producer. “The cherries would have to be treated, as in cooked or dried, and the retailer wants a product the consumer can relate to.
“Availability of the product is very limited at the moment, but this is going to become big news for the industry and we will see them in many summer mixes to come.”
Now is a good time to include cherries in the prepared mixes as product availability is good and reasonably priced, with volumes coming in from Spain and Turkey as well as some limited domestic yield. But the lines will have to move with the seasons once US cherries come on stream if the idea is to remain cost effective. “The cherries are 10 per cent of the mixed packs we produce, so normal summer fluctuations are not going to affect the product too much, but it will be more of a summer range,” continues the source.
Suppliers of the main star of the mixed fresh-cut fruit offer - melon - came across some availability problems at the end of the winter season in May, with product from Central America running low.
“The weather was poor in Central America towards the end of the season,” explains one supplier.
“But we generally had a successful run. There are now problems with the weather in Murcia and Almeria in Spain, but a lot of the processors source directly from the growers in Europe.”
Not surprisingly, bagged salad sales have picked up as consumers make the most of the summer sun and the somewhat short-lived World Cup frenzy.
The long-awaited barbecue summer has finally arrived and whether people are interested in football matches or not, bagged salad, as well as prepared corn on the cob and wet salads, are the food of choice across the country.
Bagged salad supplier Florette has reported a great deal of success with its Three Lions Salad offer, which came off retail shelves on 4 July.
It is undeniable that the weather and the recession - or recovery from the recession - will play a huge part in the success of the prepared fruit and vegetable industry this summer, but with innovation creeping back into the sector, the future is looking bright.
THEY THINK IT’S ALL OVER: IT IS NOW FOR FLORETTE’S THREE LIONS SALAD
With just two days to go before the World Cup 2010 final, pundits across the globe are hotly debating the calibre of the overall tournament, as well as the strength of their teams. Here Elaine Smith, marketing manager of Florette UK, evaluates the performance of the bagged salad company’s Three Lions promotion.
For England, France, Italy and even Brazil, such analysis makes for uncomfortable reading, but Motty or Lineker I am not, so rest assured that this post tournament analysis is all about the performance of the Three Lions that didn’t make it to South Africa: the official England Three Lions Salad.
Much like Capello did, we took a look at our own ‘squad’ to see how we could use our strengths to capitalise on the tournament. The fixtures looked appealing - fans always passionately support the England team and during the last World Cup tournament, some England games were pulling in TV audiences of up to 18 million in the UK alone.
The team sheet looked strong too - the tournament took place during our peak sales period and there was a great synergy with the key salad occasions of barbecues and summer socialising. So thanks to a licensing deal brokered by CPLG Sport on behalf of The FA, a star new signing was made - the official England Three Lions Salad.
So what about its performance on the shelf? We launched the product in May as we were keen to secure a strong performance in the ‘early rounds’. And our team did us proud, more than exceeding sales expectations by encouraging considerable additional purchase during the warm weeks in the run-up, and through to the second round, of the FIFA World Cup. Just under one million bags were sold in total and this produce category first was extremely positively received by retailers and consumers alike. Sales were additionally supported by a great spell of weather, prompting World Cup-themed alfresco parties.
The official England Three Lions Salad had a great World Cup campaign; consumer and retailer feedback proved that there was nothing jaded about the quality and we answered our critics with such energetic sales. But as the Germans are demonstrating, it is vital that talent remains fresh and youthful.
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