As Halloween fast approaches, pumpkins have arrived on supermarket shelves, and with the celebration now a key date in the British calendar, supermarkets are stocking the ghostly gourd earlier and earlier each season, suppliers say.
Guy French of Foxes Farm Produce in Essex says he started sending his pumpkins to the East of England Co-op in the last week of September this year, and he expects sales to peak in mid-October before petering out with a few last-minute sales in the week leading up to the big day.
Duncan Small of Charlton Orchards in Somerset speculates that suppliers are bringing supply forward to ensure they don’t miss out on any sales, as Halloween spending rises in the UK.
Market researcher Mintel forecast a 3.2 per cent consumer sales rise on Halloween goods in 2017, with a further rise looking likely this time around. Reflecting this, Charlton Orchards has sold its entire pumpkin crop before 31 October in recent seasons.
This year, companies may sell out even quicker, with the summer drought driving down yields. Foxes Farm Produce expects its volumes to fall by around a quarter compared to an average season, and French says national shortages are likely, with reports of major supply challenges in Lincolnshire and further north. “This year, there’s a shortage nationally from what we can make out,” he says. “A lot of the growers further north just haven’t had the crops.”
On a positive note, the hot, dry weather earlier in the summer has boosted product quality, according to the grower, with the lack of rain making for thicker, stronger skin that is perfect for Halloween carving. In addition, an increase in sunlight has given the gourds a brighter orange finish. “This year the pumpkins have stored easier, whereas last year, when it was really wet, they rotted easier and their skin was more like paper than cardboard,” French reports.
Another thing that can make pumpkins easier to carve is their size, and French reports rising demand for larger Halloween varieties. Tozer Seeds has launched a new pumpkin called Wicked, which the company expects to become a mainstay of growers’ variety portfolio. The seed company’s account manager for pumpkin and squash, Charlotte Wheeler, says the variety is fast-maturing with excellent shape, colour and strong handles, however its main attribute is its size. With an average weight of 6-8kg, and a monster diameter of 25-32cm, it is considerably larger than the standard diameter specs of 15-20cm for a small pumpkin and 20-29cm for a large.
When it comes to more niche types of squash, Tozer says it has two new varieties for trial: TZ 8302, a striped orange and yellow variety with strong green handles, and TZ 3407, a larger type of Crown Prince. Already available in smaller sizes, the latter has long been a popular ingredient in curries and Asian cooking, but Wheeler says demand has increased for larger versions that can be used for processing. TZ 3407, which weighs 8kg as opposed to the standard 4-5kg, will be available for grower trials next year.
Driving demand for less mainstream varieties like these has been a desire from producers to spread their risk and lessen the intense focus on Halloween sales. The danger for pumpkin growers is that if they fail to capitalise on the October sales rush, their finances simply won’t add up. And to shore up their businesses, many have diversified into other, more niche varieties.
Charlton Orchards now grows early-maturing squashes, such as butternut and kabocha, which are harvested in mid-August, as well as supplementing its food business by selling “highly coloured” decorative gourds to florists or at street markets. “Demand for highly coloured squash is increasing as its use in decorating seems as important as culinary use,” says Small.
However, French says niche gourds like onion squash, white acorn squash and spaghetti squash are essentially “token add-ons” that don’t sell in any great volume at retail. “There’s a specialist demand for things like Crown Prince, especially in the Asian markets,” he says, “but you’ve got to get into the right contacts and wholesalers for that to work.”
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