The Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber has set up the brand Deliciouslyorkshire to champion locally produced food and drink. Elizabeth O’Keefe talks to chief executive Jonathan Knight about the how the brand has taken the region to the next level.
When and how was the organisation set up?
The Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber was set up by the Regional Development Agency in 2002. There was a major consensus at the time, mainly from DEFRA, that support was not getting through to growers and producers in the different regions, and issues such as foot and mouth had really affected the industries.
Yorkshire Forward identified food and drink as a key strategic priority, and the Regional Food Group is now well set up to support food and drink producers, from large companies such as Northern Foods to small businesses, who need help developing their ideas.
We have a team of 25 people, with a mixture of skills including food technology, product development, compliance and accreditation, marketing and routes to market. We also help businesses think about their product and run training sessions, as well as arranging for members to attend trade and consumer shows throughout the country.
What are the organisation and its brand’s aims?
The Regional Food Group is the leading specialist supplying practical business solutions to keep companies in the fast-moving food and drink sector on top of the latest food technology, workforce skills and commercial developments. We aim to be the eyes and ears, as well as the voice, of the industry.
Both the Regional Food Group and its championing brand Deliciouslyorkshire aim to help our 330 members in the county develop their businesses and make them more efficient. The majority of our membership are very successful and we help them reach their potential. We focus on small to medium businesses really, as the larger members have their own support in place. We concentrate on getting the smaller businesses bigger.
We have a lot of members in the hospitality sector; a good deal of local hotel and restaurants use locally produced food. They have to demonstrate that they have a focus on good-quality local produce and help the local economy to be members of Deliciouslyorkshire. We hold a variety of meet-the-buyer and meet-the-producer events, to encourage growers and suppliers to buddy and work with each other.
Our overall aim is to increase the volume of food and drink producers in the region and get more people within the county eating regional food, as well as the rest of the UK and overseas.
How successful has Deliciouslyorkshire been to date?
Our Deliciouslyorkshire brand helps members to capitalise on the huge interest in local sourcing - giving smaller organisations a louder voice in this busy market. Deliciouslyorkshire has fast-growing value and demonstrates that those companies using the brand on their products have gone that extra mile in terms of quality and provenance. We have worked hard to build up recognition for the brand - we know that consumers interested in freshness, seasonality and low food miles are seeking out produce from the region and independent research conducted on our behalf shows that the brand was recognised by eight per cent of consumers nationally and 18 per cent regionally. It is the consumer’s ‘at a glance’ assurance of a product that has been produced in the Yorkshire and Humber region.
We have just developed a whole raft of point-of-sale materials - ranging from on-pack and window stickers and wipe-clean deli stands to chill bags and banners - which are available as an initial package free of charge to members. The market for locally and regionally sourced food is expected to increase from £4.3 billion in 2007 to £5.7bn by 2012, according to a survey for The Grocer in April, and we know from our own research that almost two-thirds of consumers are now setting out to buy regional food. So there is huge market potential for growth.
We are keen to follow the supply chain wherever it will go. We deal with businesses that want to get their produce into both local shops and high-end retailers such as Harrods, as well as the multiples; we make connections with buyers to make it happen. Our work is not so important for large growers with contracts in place with supermarkets, but for small- to medium-sized businesses that are looking for extra outlets it is ideal. A farm shop may be looking for local carrots or cabbages, or a box scheme may be looking for different types of suppliers, and it is our role to fill these gaps in the marketplace.
It can be difficult to find out where the fresh producers are, though, because if a supplier has a good source, the company is not going to shout out about it - it is all very cloak and dagger. Trying to identify who is growing what and where is not easy, but bringing parts of the food chain together is always a challenge.
One of the big things for us is pushing forward seasonality. People in the UK expect to eat asparagus year round and strawberries whenever they like, rather than sticking to the natural peaks in UK production and switching to another product that is in season. But we are seeing more and more that people are taking notice of the season again, and restaurants and growers are behind it. The problem is what kind of replacement crops do you grow to entice the consumer instead? We still have a long way to go.
How many fresh produce producers are there in Yorkshire and how many do you have as members?
We have some 290 growers in Yorkshire and there is a real mix of different crops throughout the land. Some 30 of our 330 members are fresh produce growers, which doesn’t sound like a large percentage, but it is when you consider that we specialise in manufacturers of food and drink, or businesses that offer added value in some way.
We are well set up for fresh produce production in the North East and there is a lot of land ready for cultivation. A lot of fresh produce growers see themselves as being in the commodity business and it is a slow process to turn them into making something out of what they are growing.
Has there been a decline of fresh produce growers in Yorkshire over the years? Or is it a thriving industry?
We are not aware of a reduction, but there has certainly been a large amount of consolidation. Big companies are buying up small players, as they are all over the country. I think consolidation is a good thing in the industry if it can reduce costs throughout the supply chain.
But generally fresh produce growers are in demand because of farm shops - Yorkshire has seen 50 new farm shops in the last two years. Fresh produce has played a very important part of that evolution and it is the first thing people will look at in a farm shop. Usually, the farm from which the shop has evolved will provide a lot of the fresh produce, but it will also need to source different and further stock from local growers.
Wakefield is the rhubarb capital of the world and we have been growing it in forcing sheds since the last century. Recently, rhubarb has become very trendy in restaurants and there is a big following for the first season and the more local the better. This is a good example of local food, as it is good quality and provides a provenance you can trust.
Are fresh produce growers important to both Deliciouslyorkshire and the Yorkshire food industry?
Fresh produce is a crucial part of the supply chain, and a lot of our members rely on growers to make up their range or to make their products, such as chutneys and jams.
And it is important in its own right. The focus is now on local, but fresh produce has a long way to go and the supply chain needs to be sorted out.
With the focus on fuel costs and carbon footprint, there is more emphasis on having a shorter supply chain than in the past. Consumers are picking up fresh produce packs and asking where it has come from.
It is better for consumer wellbeing and the local economy to buy local.
What are the Regional Food Group’s plans for the future?
Our campaigning brand Deliciouslyorkshire continues to be successful and we are flattered that it has been visually much copied. We are in the middle of our show season at the moment and our members can take advantage of the fact they can market their product under the Deliciouslyorkshire banner. It has been really useful; if consumers see the Deliciouslyorkshire halo, they know that the food has been made using products sourced from Yorkshire and Humber. When members are exhibiting at the shows they are branded as Deliciouslyorkshire.
It works in a similar way in the supermarkets, through both marketing display and branded packets. On-pack branding has not got off as well as we would have liked, as supermarkets generally have their own regional branding, but in terms of general branding in store it is growing, and on-pack branding is increasing.
Yorkshire Forward funds 70 per cent of the organisation and the remainder is provided by private enterprises, such as members’ fees and services.
But this will have to change, as public funding will soon be a thing of the past. As an organisation, we will have to bring in more members, create more services and deliver services, not just to members but also to large companies and manufacturers.
AWARDS TIME FOR REGION’S PRODUCERS
The fourth annual Deliciouslyorkshire Awards have attracted a record number of entries this year. The event, organised by the Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber, saw more than 172 entries from 86 producers.
A total of 17 honours will be given, including one for fresh produce, sponsored by Booths. The category has attracted 11 entries, ranging from sprouted seeds and beans to flagelot beans and chicory, lemon verbena and courgettes. The shortlist will be announced in mid-September.
The awards, which are gaining in popularity every year, are intended to showcase the best food and drink the region has to offer and celebrate the exceptional achievements of Regional Food Group members.
The winning products from each category will be entered for the prestigious Deliciouslyorkshire Supreme Product 2008-09 and the Deliciouslyorkshire Champion for 2008-09, which is awarded to the person who has done the most to promote and develop the food and drink industry in the region.
Jonathan Knight, chief executive of the Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber, says: “This year’s figures reflect not only the huge ongoing interest in regional food and drink, but the innovative producers we enjoy in the region.”
An independent panel will judge the entries this month. The winners will be announced at a star-studded dinner and awards ceremony at Rudding Park, Harrogate, on November 3.
MORE THAN RHUBARB IN OLDROYD ODYSSEY
E Oldroyd & Sons Ltd is a fifth-generation family business. Janet Oldroyd Hulme has worked hard for many years to protect forced rhubarb production in Yorkshire. She speaks to Damaris Freeman about the region and its rhubarb.
When was your business set up?
The business was established in the 1930s by my grandfather. It has always been a family business, based in Rothwell between Leeds and Wakefield. In the 1960s and 1970s my father, at a time when a lot of growers were leaving the business, bought up a lot of the land that was suitable for growing rhubarb.
Yorkshire was the centre of the world for forced rhubarb production. We have 500 acres of land, 200a of which is set aside for rhubarb.
What produce do you sell?
The main crop is rhubarb but we also grow soft fruit such as blueberries, gooseberries, strawberries and raspberries. We also produce potatoes, onions, cauliflower and broccoli.
What is your main customer base?
Nowadays, our main customer base is made up of the supermarkets. We sell to Sainsburys, Marks & Spencer and Tesco. We sell strawberries to Somerfield and blueberries and gooseberries to The Co-op.
We also sell to farmers’ markets, but probably only about one per cent of the total crop now. They are a good outlet for Class II strawberries, as we get a better return on them once costs such as transport have been included.
This year, we have been to a number of food festivals in Wakefield, Rochdale, Bradford and Saltaire.
What have been the main issues for your business this year?
We have 15a of land under strawberry production. Strawberries are a very labour-intensive crop and we need a lot of staff to pick the crop in time. Soft-fruit picking is hard work and a lot of English people will not do it. We are getting fewer staff from the EU these days - we rely heavily on people from Bulgaria and Romania, but the government has placed restrictions on the number of people allowed to work in the UK and this year we have struggled to get enough workers. This year, we lost a lot of strawberries just because we could not get enough people to pick them in time.
Also, our rhubarb crop has been badly affected by the de-listing of the pesticide Simazine in December last year. There is a very invasive weed called Himalayan Balsam, which grows around the base of the product - it stops the rhubarb from soaking up nutrients from the soil, and Simazine was the only pesticide left that we were allowed to use that could kill it. Now that has been taken away. We should have a fantastic crop of rhubarb this year as the weather conditions have been perfect but it is going to be very difficult now; it has been a great blow for rhubarb. It is problematic for us because other countries do not abide by the same strict regulations and, as a result, supermarkets will go elsewhere if our yield isn’t big enough.
Heating costs have also become very expensive. They went up by a third last year and by another third this year. You could end up losing money producing forced rhubarb, because it requires so much heating.
What else are you doing in rhubarb production?
The traditional areas of rhubarb production - Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford - are going for protected name status as The Rhubarb Triangle.
This would mean that we would be recognised for the high-quality rhubarb we produce. The application has been accepted by the UK and is now in the process of being reviewed by EU officials in Brussels. We hope that if we receive this status it will help protect rhubarb production in Yorkshire.
Are you doing anything new?
This year, we are growing an acre of blackberries for the first time. Sharp flavours seem to be very in vogue at the moment, reflected in the rise in popularity of both gooseberries and rhubarb. We will be selling to markets this year, because the crop will take two years to grow large enough yields for the supermarkets, but hopefully we will sell to them in the future.
ARUNDEL-KERR EXPANDS
Arundel-Kerr Produce Ltd has expanded its 200 acres of Yorkshire production area to 600a in the last two years, with the aim to push this up to 2,000a by 2010.
A £2 million investment in the same period has seen the firm centralise its potato and onion storage and grading operations in the region.
The business, which supplies potatoes and onions to major multiples and processors, was founded in York in 1999.
Morrisons is its main customer, but it also produces for processing company McCain, which is based in Scarborough.
Arundel-Kerr is based in Elsham on the Humber, but has sites across Yorkshire and north Lincolnshire, which together produce 120,000 tonnes of produce a year.
On average, some 20-30 per cent of the company’s total produce will be sourced from Yorkshire each year.
Director Richard Arundel says: “One of the major costs of supplying potatoes is distribution, given the bulky nature of the crop. Rising transport costs have led to a focus on producing potatoes as close to our main customers as possible.
“The region has some excellent soils for potato production, along with a fantastic transport infrastructure with the M180/M18 and M62/A1 motorway network. These have been key factors in the development of our growing business.”
Arundel, pictured centre with Graham Cottee, left, and Roger Blyth, remains positive in the face of a number of challenges. “We try to be the best potato and onion producers,” he says. “We fully understand what our customers want and our business has really benefited from our straightforward and honest relationship with Morrisons. If we are the best then people will continue to buy from us. That is our philosophy.”
SNAITH SETS SALAD PACE
Snaith Salad Growers is a co-operative based between Goole and Selby in the East Riding of Yorkshire, which has been trading since 1982.
Nowadays, its primary customer is Asda and it also sells to Somerfield and The Co-op.
The team occasionally visits Manchester, London and Birmingham markets; however, most of the trade is now direct to supermarkets.
Simon Deighton, general manager, says around 95 per cent of the produce goes to major multiples now. “We used to go to the markets to sell butterhead lettuce, Chinese leaf and celery, but we rarely go these days as it’s not as profitable,” he explains.
Some 55 per cent of its produce is sourced locally when it is in season, with its furthest Yorkshire-based grower in Hull. There has been some increased interest in locally grown produce such as cucumbers, leeks and courgettes, but the trend is yet to take off as it has in other regions, Deighton says.
Snaith Salad Growers is drawing together all of its resources to address some of the major issues affecting growers in Yorkshire and throughout the UK. “The challenges facing Yorkshire fresh produce suppliers are the cost of production, especially now with fuel price increases, and the cut-throat marketplace caused by budget stores such as Lidl and Aldi,” says Deighton. “We are constantly looking at ways to lower costs, such as using low fuel vehicles. We also have lower staff levels than we did five years ago.”
THIRSK FOR HERBS
Sandhutton Growers is one of the main herb growers in Yorkshire.
All its produce is grown at Thirsk in two acres of polytunnels and 45a of open land.
New varieties such as lemon verbena and pineapple sage are being tried out and are proving increasingly popular, alongside a full range of salad vegetables and purple sprouting broccoli.
Alison Dodds, managing director, says the firm aims to produce something different. “You have to look for something other people are not doing,” she says.
This year, the company is running trials on land cresses, mustard and red mizuno and will be growing cabbage for the first time. “You cannot grow herbs in winter and cabbage is a good crop because it finishes just as it is time to grow the herbs again,” Dodd explains.
The grower does not trade on markets but traditionally supplies to local farm shops, and has just started selling on a small scale to Waitrose.
BOOTHS TO CUT RIPON
North-west retailer Booths is set to open another store in Ripon next year, to build on its two stores in the region, in Ilkley and Settle.
Across all lines, some 20 per cent of produce is sourced in Yorkshire. All cucumbers, loose pears, aubergines and tomato six-packs are grown in the region.
Local sourcing is central to the Booths ethos. Spokeswoman Tracey Hargreaves says: “Demand for locally grown has increased across all stores, which for us means Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire or Cumbria provenance.
“Local is what we are known for. Our customers like the fact that we support the local economy.”
The retailer was established 161 years ago and is still a family-run business.
CENTRAL GROWER SUPPORT
Stockbridge Technology Centre (STC) researches and develops projects for the horticultural industry on 200 acres of open land and another three acres of greenhouse space outside Selby.
The centre tests the efficacy of herbicides and fungicides, as well as developing new varieties of lettuce, carrots and brassicas.
Julian Davies, agronomist and commercial director, says STC research helps to support the UK industry. “The main purpose of our work is researching how to optimise efficiency and yield size, and to develop ways to control pests and disease,” he says.
One of STC’s most memorable research initiatives was the 2005 cucumber project, in which the centre set out to assess whether cucumbers could be produced all year round without lowering quality or yield.
The research found that year-round cucumber production is possible and that yield could be increased from 123-130 to 300 cucumbers per square metre per year, while maintaining good quality.
Growers around the country have since started producing cucumbers year-round but, as Davies explains, whether a company can produce crops like this depends on cost because running greenhouses is expensive. “Competition from supermarkets is an important factor,” he says. “Products are sold on price rather than provenance or even carbon footprint.”
Davies notes the good work of Yorkshire growers such as The Farmers Cart, in Strensall, and The Balloon Tree at Gate Helmsley, in growing local produce. “A lot of people are interested in local produce, but I think it will stay niche,” he says. “It is of more interest to restaurateurs and those wanting to support the local community. Although companies are now taking on a smaller number of large suppliers, that trend may continue.
“The problem for local growers these days is labour availability and making sure there are people around for harvest,” he continues. “Obviously, the increasing cost of production is an issue, especially in terms of transportation and fuel expenses.”
STC is also engaged in local education, working in partnership with supplier English Village Salads (EVS). Schoolchildren visit the technology centre to learn about food, how it is grown and how it ends up on their plates. STC believes that this relationship is vital in maintaining an understanding of the importance of food production. STC and EVS also teamed up to sponsor local children cooking in the York Food and Drink Festival last year.
“The main thing is to have a vibrant UK horticultural industry, which makes sure the country does not just suck in imported produce,” Davies says. “Major supermarkets need to understand and support that.”
POSKITT’S YORKSHIRE PRIDE
Poskitt Carrots makes the most of its location in Yorkshire to grow carrots and parsnips there most of the year, from mid-July to early May.
The family business, which has been trading since 1956, is based in Kellington between Selby and Pontefract and serves the retail - mainly Asda - wholesale and foodservice sectors.
The firm has sites in Scotland, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Suffolk, to support its Yorkshire base. The Scottish growers supply product at the end of the season as it gets warmer, then the more southerly growers follow on with new-season product. The firm sometimes sources from overseas, including France, Spain or Israel, to fill gaps in supply.
Guy Poskitt, who has been managing director for 25 years, says it is essential to meet demand and keep costs manageable. “Yorkshire is where we are based, but to keep costs down we need to be efficient and that means getting supply from sites where maximum productivity is possible,” he says.
Keeping costs down is a priority for the firm. “We are all challenged by inflation,” says Poskitt. “Fertilisers, for example, have doubled and in some cases tripled in price.”
The business needs to be able to operate on a large scale to be viable. “The way to be efficient is to produce large volumes,” Poskitt explains. “Food miles are not as expensive as people think, but running factories at only 50 per cent production is very expensive. Volume drives efficiency so you need to go to where you can get the biggest yields, depending on the time of year.”
Poskitt partners up with smaller local farms to pool resources and create a relationship that is of mutual benefit. “The biggest farms are not always the best,” he says. “We can get a good crop from just 20 acres if we provide the technical assistance such as machinery and equipment.”
EVS USES YORKSHIRE BANNER
English Village Salads (EVS) has extended its range of Yorkshire-branded produce this year to meet demand.
Some 25 per cent of the supplier’s produce is sourced from the Yorkshire region, as it sees provenance as essential to the quality of its produce.
Kelly Colrein at EVS says: “Our heritage is Yorkshire. The region boasts many high-quality growers and many of our stakeholders are Yorkshire growers.”
EVS reports that demand for locally sourced produce is growing at a rapid rate. “Customers all over the country are looking for local produce now, but as Yorkshire is such a big region the demand has been very good,” Colrein says.
The company was set up in Selby in 1991 and sources produce from 22 growers across the Yorkshire region, including tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and cress.
More than 4.5 million punnets of salad cress and 9.5m heads of lettuce are supplied by EVS each year, all of which are Yorkshire-grown.
EVS is strongly associated with the regional community. The team works with the Stockbridge Technology Centre to organise sessions for schoolchildren to learn about food and has also organised a tomato plant growing competition between Yorkshire schools (see article left). The supplier has also been involved in Yorkshire and Humber’s activities to mark the Year of Food and Farming.
Colrein believes the next step for Yorkshire growers and suppliers is for everyone in the region to drive up awareness of the quality of Yorkshire produce and work closely with retail customers to maximise every opportunity.
YORK CELEBRATES FOOD TRADITIONS
The twelfth annual York Food and Drink Festival is to celebrate the best of regional and world food in the heart of the historic city next month.
The 10-day event will feature food markets, cookery workshops and tastings each day, from September 19-28.
Hands-on cookery workshops will be held for adults and children in the Guildhall.
The evening events will include the York Dinner, made from food sourced entirely from within the city walls, as well as a Victorian-themed meal in the Mansion House.
Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square are to be filled with market stalls offering food to buy and food to eat in the street. Organic vegetables, regional cheeses, wild boar sausages and puddings with Yorkshire clotted cream will be just some of the items for sale, and a number of restaurants including the award-winning Sukhothai will take to the streets.
TV chef Rachel Green, who hosted this year’s Re:fresh Conference, will be representing fresh produce grower Scholes at the event. Green says: “I think it’s going to be fantastic. I love demonstrating and sharing knowledge and the produce at Scholes is excellent. The flageolet beans and squashes are such wonderful products.”
The spaghetti squash to be shown at the event has never been grown in the UK before.
Green will join top regional chefs including festival director Michael Hjort from Melton’s, Andrew Pern from the Star at Harome, Paul Heathcote from the Olive Press in Leeds and Stephanie Moon from Rudding Park at the free event. They will be in York to reinforce this year’s theme of how to make the best of everything and something out of nothing.
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