A former blue-chip market research adviser and fresh produce home-delivery service provider, Christine Fisher, is trying to re-invigorate the independent retail sector with the launch this week of Greengrocers' Campaigner.

The body is a co-operative lobbying and marketing service for independent greengrocers and aims to "put them back on the map and make them a force to be reckoned with," said Fisher.

"Specialist greengrocers offer an important alternative to supermarkets for fresh produce and are far more widely available than farmers' markets, but they are rarely acknowledged or applauded."

She recognises that greengrocer numbers are declining fast with just 2,000-3,000 remaining in the UK. "The vast majority of specialist greengrocers are individual retailers and fiercely independent which means they have had no collective voice or bargaining power until now," said Fisher.

"I would like to give the supermarkets a bit more of a run for their money...which is where Greengrocers' Campaigner comes in."

To achieve this, Fisher has already produced the first issue of a newsletter also titled Greengrocers' Campaigner outlining six areas of campaigning work: among wholesalers, in home delivery, sharing stock, promotional material, sourcing local produce and healthy eating. The publication has been mailed to half of England's greengrocers and more should receive it later this month, but Greengrocers' Campaigner is appealing for support from the sector it aims to serve across the UK to fund this work. "Your subscription will not only give us the finances to get on with the job, but also the authority to lobby on your behalf," Fisher appealed to independent retailers.

Greengrocers in the UK have been poorly represented as an industry sector for the past decade. Since the activities of the Retail Fruit Trade Federation were incorporated into the Fresh Produce Consortium in 1993, there has been an independent retail division of the FPC, but it is now dormant due to lack of interest.

"There has not been active participation by the membership to drive it forward," said FPC chief executive Nigel Jenney. "We are aware of the communication from Greengrocers' Campaigner and we would like to meet with them to see how we can go forward to our mutual benefit."

Fisher points out that the FPC listed 108 independent retailer members in its handbook in 2003. "Therefore as soon as subscriptions to Greengrocers' Campaigner exceed 108 we will have the authority to work with the FPC on behalf of independent retailers," said Fisher, whose organisation has already become an FPC member.

Fisher herself has spent most of her career at Beecham Products (Glaxo SmithKline) as international market research adviser on brands such as Ribena. She has also worked at a major advertising agency and its market research subsidiary.

But she is fully aware of the enormity of the task ahead. "Radio and television broadcasters, and food and cookery writers routinely say: buy at your local supermarket when talking about fruit and vegetables, ignoring the existence of local greengrocers," said Fisher. "...If action isn't taken it will be a case of forgotten today, gone tomorrow...Can Greengrocers' Campaigner make a difference? We're going to have a very good try."

To subscribe to Greengrocers' Campaigner or for further information: e-mail christine.fisher@Care4Free.net or call 01932 780273.

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