Andy Clarkson Greenvale FPJ Live 2018

Andy Clarkson (right) spoke at FPJ Live 2018

Freshly installed just the previous week as the new managing director of potato supplier Greenvale, Andy Clarkson spoke at FPJ Live in Coventry about the various challenges ahead for the company amid a private equity takeover bid for its parent company Produce Investments.

Perhaps most pressing among those challenges, he said, would be a growing requirement to automate various processes that are crucial in its business, a need to meet rising consumer demand for convenience, and pressure to address growing public concern over the use of plastic packaging.

“Looking at automation will be a key part of the agenda,” he told FPJ’s Fred Searle, adding that returning to private ownership might help speed up any related investments. “As a private business it should give us the opportunity to remove the tangle and costs, and reinvest internally.”

Evolving the offer will also be key, especially with Kantar Worldpanel data presented at FPJ Live illustrating an alarming decline in the number of traditional roast dinners being consumed in the UK.

“Potatoes are not always seen as a convenience product,” Clarkson conceded, “but there are different formats we’re working on. Average cook time continues to reduce, coming down from 30 minutes to 20 minutes. We have to ensure we remain competitive in convenience as a category.”

The group recently added flavour sachets to packs as a trial, aiming to make it easier for consumers to make a simple bowl of wedges. “We have got to keep moving with the market,” Clarkson added.

As for packaging, he continued, this area is set to be a priority, with the emphasis very much on finding alternatives to single-use plastics. “A lot of people agree that plastic plays a part in reducing food waste and getting products from factory to consumer in the best possible state,” he noted. “We are looking at paper alternatives, but the challenge is that product is generally packed quite damp. We’re probably about 80 per cent there though and we are trying to get that new material on existing machinery and at the same run rates. That will be the golden ticket.”

The company said it was exploring alternative substrates which are compostable and/or recyclable and believes it will bring a solution to the market in the near future. “We would welcome a common standard across local councils for recycling plastics and an improvement in the recycling infrastructure in the UK to help deliver a long-term sustainable solution for all,” said marketing director Leon Mundey.

Private investors swoop on Produce Investments

The company that owns Greenvale and The Jersey Royal Company, Produce Investments, accepted a £53 million takeover bid from private equity firm April 1983 Bidco last month.

April 1983 Bidco is a new investment vehicle owned by Promethean Investments, which describes itself as “providing innovative capital solutions in the lower mid-market”. Its current portfolio includes Brickability, a brick producer, and sofa manufacturers Sofa Brands International.

Through its subsidiaries, Produce Investments run a large chunk of the UK potato industry, from seed production, growing, packing and sorting. It also produces daffodil bulbs. With a turnover of £200.1m, it was ranked the 13th largest fresh produce company in last year’s FPJ Big 50.