The good old British summer that everyone has been waiting for is giving the salad sector much cause for joy.
The UK lettuce harvest started in the third week of April in Essex and came on stream nationally in full volumes at the start of May.
The crops had a slightly uneasy start on the market due to wet and windy weather in the spring, which meant lettuce covered by fleece was affected. “The light showery weather dampened the tops of the sheets and managed to rip them in some places, causing damage to the plants,” says one grower. “Spring was difficult to manage from that point of view and some lettuces on the market at the start of the season had damage around the edges. Other than that, it has been a good crop; availability has been good.”
The move from Spanish product to Dutch and English alternatives went well in the main, as plenty of French and Spanish lettuce was around before the transition due to late plantings. Suppliers are now moving from protected crops to open fields in the UK.
At the start of the quarter, the summer forecast for both the weather and the salad sector was bright, and expectations of high demand were brought on thanks to the prediction of a barbecue summer and estimates of growing numbers of people choosing to stay-cation in the UK.
The early summer period seems to show this unfolding, thanks to some decent spells of sunny weather, which have not just prompted strong salad sales, but also created good growing conditions and subsequently high leaf quality.
“UK growing conditions over the last few months have been very good, creating crisp, plump and juicy leaves, delivering longer-lasting freshness and optimum flavour for the consumer,” says one insider.
“These factors are vital in the current climate - call it a case of demanding extra crunch from the crunch, but the economic situation means that consumers are wanting more than ever from their fresh food options.
“Getting 5 A DAY is one thing, but as shoppers are forced to justify their choices and expenditure, they are turning to those products and brands that give them the reassurance of the finest and freshest quality, as well as offering convenience and value.”
The British Leafy Salads Association (BLSA) has decided it is the perfect time to introduce a brand-new PR campaign to promote UK lettuce and its versatility to consumers. The new campaign - which is in the hands of The Watercess Alliance’s saviour, Mustard Communications - will focus on the different varieties of lettuces available to UK consumers and follows on from work done with the Fresh Prepared Salads Producer Group (FPSPG).
“We had campaign funding from Nature’s Way and Bakkavör, etc, to put together an FPSPG campaign, which was driven mainly by negative press about bagged salads years ago that we needed to counteract,” explains David Piccaver, chairman of the BLSA. “This campaign has come to an end, but we didn’t want to lose what we had gained and we still need to counteract the bad press that regularly rears its head.
“But we also need to promote all kinds of leafy lettuce after two very poor and damaging years. We need to tell consumers that our product is good quality, healthy and tasty.
“It is a BLSA campaign, so all members are making a contribution to funding and we are 100 per cent behind it. It covers everyone, including wholehead and speciality leaf lettuce, herbs and lettuce under glass.”
The new PR campaign is just getting underway in time to maximise press coverage around the start of the British salad season. The remit of Mustard Communications’ Bring on the Salads campaign for bagged salad producers’ has now been extended to include the whole lettuce industry and will focus on introducing new varieties to UK consumers.
Piccaver continues: “We have some fantastic new salad varieties coming onto the market such as Multileaf, Deer Tongue, Sweet Ruby Gem, Triple Head and a Midi Cos, and we will be laying on tasting and briefing sessions for the food and health writers to encourage them to run features on the sector as a whole.
“Everything is now going well, with the prediction of a warm summer boding well for a very good year.”
The PR campaign will also include farm tours, radio interviews and new recipe development. There will be a big push on warm salads in the autumn, which will be backed by a celebrity.
“Given the current state of the industry, we are taking a pragmatic approach,” adds Piccaver. “We are very keen as an association to promote what we have got.”
UK cucumbers are also having a good season, with yield slightly up due to good light levels early in the season, causing an oversupply at the end of May. Prices have also been high and with gas prices lower than last year, the cucumber industry is recuperating after two years of high costs and low returns. “Demand was slightly down in May,” says one supplier. “But now it is up and most supermarkets have cucumbers on promotion at 50p each or two for £1, which is generally helping sales along.”
The Spanish crop of cues did well in Aldi and the season has just about finished. Now, Dutch cucumbers are coming into the country to complement the domestic offer. “There is not a lot of difference between a Dutch and an English cucumber, but English product does have the edge on taste,” says one UK supplier. “Quality is probably the same, but it is in the shops a clear day earlier.”
Good light levels in May also gave the UK pepper season a welcome boost, and this means that there are more English peppers on the market now than ever. Imports from the Netherlands have been good quality and a small amount of Spanish spring crop has made an appearance.
But even the ideal situation brings disadvantages and the last two disastrous seasons made UK growers particularly cautious when it came to planting programmes at the end of 2008, meaning that if demand continues there could be a shortage throughout the UK and Europe.
“As far as UK growers are concerned, there is going to be very little surplus crop,” explains one insider. “Growers have not grown any excess in fear of another bad year for returns and demand. But demand has been very strong and we have seen warmer days.
“Basically, it is very likely that we will go short and price pressure will be on. Growers cannot afford to grow excess [product] anymore on the off-chance of a good season, and have all taken the harder line when it comes to programming.
“Only time will tell how the summer will pan out,” he adds.
HAZELDENE ENJOYS THE SUNSHINE
The Last quarter has been a positive period and has seen us enjoy a smooth transition from Spanish supply to UK crop, writes Simon Ball, managing director of one of the UK’s leading fresh prepared salad suppliers, Hazeldene.
This can be a tricky period for many, but the work and investment that we have put in with our suppliers over the last six years has paid dividends once again.
Efficient communication through this period is essential and the infrastructure we have in place, with the support of our Spanish-based team, has enabled us to manage this process without any detriment to our service level.
Over the past 12 months or so, we at Hazeldene have been focusing our efforts on being specialists, not generalists, providing a service that is honest, friendly and engaging, with naturally fresh products.
Initially growing salads such as radishes and marketing locally grown produce in west Lancashire, Hazeldene was established in 1990, born out of a business called Macpac in 1976. In the mid-1990s, we washed and processed salads at the original site in Tarleton. Then in 2005, we were acquired by the William Jackson Food Group and moved to our specially designed facility in Wigan later that year.
Over the last 20 years, Hazeldene has transformed from a traditional small holding grower and packer to one of the leading salad processors in the UK. We are proud of our heritage and our agricultural roots; in fact, this gives us a distinct advantage and allows us to enjoy a much closer relationship with our suppliers.
We are specialists in ready-to-eat leafy salads and although we also have a range of sliced products and sandwich vegetables, the majority of our range is made up of lettuce and baby leaf varieties. Now that the UK season is underway, more than 72 per cent of this volume is supplied locally. The local offer is important to us, but it is also vital that we have contingency through geographical spread. We also procure our leafy products from the Vale of Evesham, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and West Sussex. We are also dedicated to buying produce seasonally, rather than forcing growth out of season, which ensures we always have the best quality and flavour throughout the year. While 72 per cent of our leaf is sourced from within 20 miles of the plant during the summer, 80 per cent of our winter leaf is grown in the Spanish region of Murcia. This Mediterranean climate, combined with the rich fertile plains known as the Huerta, makes it an ideal location to grow such winter leaf products.
So far this season, we have not encountered any issues with either quality or availability from any of the regions. Plus, there have been no extreme weather conditions this summer so far, meaning we have seen very few issues in this quarter.
The difficult exchange rate has been something of a new phenomenon, but now we are all aware of it, I do not see it being a major issue going forward.
This quarter, our volumes have increased with new business wins, commencing across all of the sectors we focus on - convenience retail, foodservice and sandwich manufacturing. This is also the time of year that we look forward to the seasonal uplift and so far, the signs are encouraging. Conditions have definitely been better than last year and we hope it continues.
To achieve future success, innovation is absolutely key. Our theme this year is all about putting flavour back on the plate. To support this, we have our own extensive variety trials being grown in Lancashire and will be inviting all of our customers and suppliers to visit them. This is the first year for the trials and we are really looking forward to showcasing the products.
I personally feel the future for processed salads is incredibly exciting. Not only are they healthy, but they offer our customers a wide range of leaf varieties in a convenient format.
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