The concept of wholesale trading might conjure up a certain image in the mind, but if so then Premier Fruits is taking no notice.
The New Covent Garden Market-based firm is rewriting the rule book on what makes a traditional wholesaler, expanding into different sectors and trying out new things as it scopes out ways to succeed in a tough economy. The strategy is helping gain the business unprecedented understanding of the fresh produce supply chain and taking it in directions not normally associated with market traders.
This has been backed by recruiting established industry talent such as new MD Richard Hickson, formerly of Fyffes, and ex-Agrexco man Mike Caddy, who joined Premier this year as business development manager. It all adds up to a group with a clear intention to expand its boundaries and stay ahead of the competition.
Already strong in the catering and wholesale segments, Premier Fruits - which has a turnover approaching £90 million - has been innovating recently with concepts like its Desiree concession in Selfridges, which has received an enthusiastic response from shoppers.
But undoubtedly one of its most fascinating moves is one of the least heralded. Last year the company bought a 42-acre piece of land in Bansted, Surrey, on which it is growing a wide range of produce to sell both in the adjacent farm shop and via its traditional market channels.
Oak Tree Farm & Nursery is growing everything from lettuce, marrow, squash, pumpkin, cauliflower, spinach, French beans and sweetcorn to plums, apples and Christmas trees. It is even producing its own honey. It is all part of a strategy for Premier to better understand the issues facing growers and the impact of climate and other variables on the supply chain, and has the added advantage of allowing chefs to come and discuss their cropping requirements. With ‘fresh’ and ‘local’ the buzzwords of the day, it gives Premier the chance to tick several of the most vogue boxes.
“It was the missing piece of the puzzle,” explains sales and business development manager Ricky Scott. “We are all about the provenance. With this farm we can have the same experiences as our growers, which makes us more involved. And it gives us full traceability from start to finish. It’s a huge investment, but it supports our existing business.”
The company could hardly have chosen a more difficult year in which to do it, with many growers reporting the most challenging few months of weather in living memory. “We’ve learned a hell of a lot in the last year,” Scott concedes, “but it’s given us a good platform for the next few years.”
With several of the Premier Fruits management team living within a stone’s throw of the farm, it was a natural location for the venture, and it also makes the team sensitive to the concerns of the local residents. “We are getting the local people on board and working to make it a destination for them,” says director Jason Tanner. “The site is in three parts - the house, farm shop and farmland - and they all stand on their own two feet [financially].”
And the initiative could prove a valuable platform for future growth, according to Caddy. “It will take time to find the right model,” he says. “This type of smallholding is disappearing, but given Premier’s experience in foodservice we can see further growth. For us as a group it’s important to understand the peaks and the troughs facing fresh produce. We can see how growers have suffered with the weather.”
Nobody expected it to be easy - and in this most unpredictable of years it certainly hasn’t been - but few would bet against Premier Fruits making a big success of its latest business venture. -
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