The rise in cooking programmes has helped to educate consumers about how to use herbs and this, combined with greater availability in supermarkets, has seen the market flourish in recent years.
According to Kantar Worldpanel figures for the year to 26 December 2010, value sales for the total fresh herb market rose by eight per cent to
£55 million and volume sales grew by six per cent on last year.
“The fresh-cut herb market really took off five years ago,” says Mike Caddy, sales manager for herbs at Israel-based exporter Agrexco. “Linked to the number of TV cookery programmes is the rise of the £10 dine-at-home offers and recipe suggestions from some of the major multiple retailers - both give consumers the opportunity to try varieties they may not have tried before.”
Shoppers are also getting more adventurous when it comes to their meal choices, both in and out of home. Food from the Middle East is popular at the moment, according to James Seymour, sensory and innovation manager at UK herb grower VHB. And traditional Middle Eastern dishes and salads, such as Tabbouleh, often use handfuls of fresh mint, coriander and flat leaf parsley.
This is reflected in value sales data from Kantar Worldpanel, which shows that the market for mint grew by 16 per cent last year to £4.8m, driven by a
16 per cent rise in the amount sold compared with the previous year.
Seymour also notes that consumer demand is high from the UK’s immigrant population, “for whom herbs are an integral ingredient in food preparation”.
And since Danish restaurant Noma was named best restaurant in the world, it has reportedly created a new interest in Nordic gourmet cuisine. “With a strong focus on traditional methods, product quality and heritage, more unusual foraged herbs and leaves are making it onto the dinner plate,” explains Seymour.
Latest innovations
With greater demand from consumers for a wider and more eclectic range of herbs, innovation is high on the list for producers.
However, as Seymour points out, it can be difficult to introduce new varieties into the mainstream market. “Consumer purchases tend to be recipe-driven,” he explains. “Recipe books are written with a knowledge of what herbs are already readily available. An example would be the small leaved Greek basil we launched a few years ago, which is just starting to appear in cookery books now.”
To combat this, many producers target foodservice channels and chefs before looking for supermarket listings. VHB, for example, has plans to launch a British-grown range of Living WOW! Micro Leaf into New Covent Garden Market this month to target the foodservice market. The launch follows the success of the pre-cut WOW! Micro Leaf range, which has seen an increase in sales of 53 per cent year on year, and an increase in the range from 12 to 28 varieties over the last two years, according to Seymour.
“An initial selection for the new range will include red amaranth, garlic chives, purple radish, rocket and purple shiso,” he says. “We will also be introducing a box of decorative tendril pea shoots.”
And chefs are always on the look-out for interesting products for both flavour and garnish purposes, insists Anneke Cuppen, marketing manager at cress specialist Koppert Cress. “Last year, we launched Honey Cress and Scarlet Cress into the UK and they have been doing really well,” she says. “Honey is popular because it has a sweet, sugary flavour so it makes for some interesting dishes, while Scarlet is bright red so chefs are keen to use it as a garnish.”
Koppert Cress will be focusing on growing distribution for these two products this year, as well as continuing with the success of its edible flower range, which has also been popular - particularly with chefs at high-end restaurants.
Meanwhile, Agrexco has seen a considerable rise in demand for Salicornia. “It started as a very specialist product with limited programmes but we are now seeing considerable growth,” says Caddy.
Alison Dodd, managing director of Herbs Unlimited, insists that herbs “have never been more necessary”. “Their health benefit as a salt substitute in chilled meals and the increase in flavour can give the chilled meal sector a real boost,” she says. “Dried or frozen herbs are no substitute.”
Traditional varieties
Agrexco has also been concentrating on developing relationships with countries outside of Israel, in order to establish a 52-week supply of herbs such as chives. “As a result, we are now dealing with growers in Ethiopia, India, Serbia and also in Palestine, all marketed under our Alesia international brand,” says Caddy.
Moves such as this have helped to make herbs more readily available in the UK to meet the rising demand for traditional herbs such as basil, chives and rosemary.
Value sales of basil in particular shot up last year, with an 18 per cent increase on the previous year to £10.5m, driven by an 11 per cent boost in volume sales, according to Kantar Worldpanel. The market for chives also grew, with an eight per cent value sales jump to £2.7m.
Suppliers have continued to innovate with herbs that are more well known.
VHB launched its Living Rosemary into retail last year. “Compared to some other pot herbs in our range, it needs a longer growing time to produce a pot to marketable size,” explains Seymour. “Raised from cuttings taken from our stock of mother plants, it delivers fine flavoured, semi soft sprigs that are perfect roasted with lamb.”
Also selling well are three lines from Good Natured Herbs - Razzle Dazzle Basil, Currylicious Coriander and Fantastic Flat Leaf Parsley. The herbs - packaged in large pots - have been on sale since last March.
The growth of the herb category has enabled growers to reinvest in their business to improve their offer. Scotherbs, for example, researches innovative growing techniques to extend the home-grown season and has invested heavily in its premises so that it can offer ready-to-use washed and chopped herbs.
Challenges
The market for fresh-cut herbs looks strong going forward, especially if celebrity chefs continue to champion the case for herb usage in everyday cooking. Suppliers are positive, but the industry is not without its challenges.
The Icelandic volcano and severe weather prior to Christmas 2010 posed problems for some, as both affected supply routes to UK airports and through mainland Europe by road.
“I have never known such a challenging time in terms of supply,” says Mathew Prestwich, vice chairman, British Herb Trade Association (BHTA) and partner at R&G Fresh Herbs. “The amount of suppliers and countries we source from is ever increasing.”
Producing herbs in large volumes can also be a problem. “Currently, it is not viable to produce the large volumes required over the winter months within the UK, so we are dependent on imports,” explains Seymour. “This is an area we are focusing on, to develop UK production methods so we are less reliant on imports.”
And there is already evidence of this happening. A recipe competition for John Torode’s Hunt the Nation’s Herb Heroes was launched in January, encouraging consumers to upload their favourite herb recipes, which the public can then vote for. Traffic to the BHTA consumer website has tripled as a result of the campaign, boosted by good press coverage.
“A key focus is to show how fresh herbs can make ordinary meals extraordinary and we’re looking at how people use fresh herbs to transform everyday dishes,” says Prestwich.
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