M&S highlights the importance of store presentation in its latest annual report.
Boasting that its marketing campaigns constantly break new ground, the UK retail chain said its ‘Adventures In…’ Food ads used new photography techniques to showcase food innovation.
If you missed the dancing fruit, bursting berries and other fancy food features, you can catch them here.
De Jong Packaging has started selling its corrugated packaging in the UK and has big ambitions there.
The Dutch company already supplies corrugated board boxes and trays for fresh produce in Germany, Belgium and its home market. De Jong Packaging’s sales and marketing director Arie Barendregt says being the Netherlands’ cost leader in corrugated packaging – “and its 3rd largest corrugated board factory and the only independent one” – are just two of the strengths it now brings to the UK market.
Speaking to ED at the London Produce Show in June, Barendregt said that at any one time, De Jong Packaging has 25-35 million boxes and trays in stock and ready to ship. It produces more than 300 million corrugated board trays and boxes a year and supplies fresh produce customers 7 days a week, 365 days a year. “Two out of every three trays in use in Holland are produced by us.”
With Aldi and Lidl making strong headway in the UK market, the company has been in touch with these discounters to find out more about their needs. Barendregt said that in Holland, Aldi is already a heavy user of De Jong Packaging’s wooden-look boxes, because of their natural aspect.
But when it comes to its fresh produce clients, the company, which celebrates its 20th anniversary next year, has prospered on a policy of doing business with small and medium-sized firms only. Barendregt said it’s because “the big, pan-European companies always want to be the first, so they take away my capacity, they squeeze my prices, they add to my costs, because they want all kinds of additional layers of paperwork.” He said the result is a lot of business but less flexibility and increased costs. “In the end, the customers who I really care about, the small and medium enterprises, have to pay the bill,” he said.
The policy has served the manufacturer well, allowing it to stay close to its customers and meet their needs for bespoke products, strengths it believes will also see it thrive in the UK.
De Jong Packaging has 300 employees in its factory in Holland but also has a share in two Dutch flower box wholesale companies, and three Dutch and one Belgian fresh produce tray wholesale companies. “This brings us closer to indirect customers and gives us control of these sales channels,” Barendregt said.
De Jong Packaging
London Produce Show
De Jong Packaging’s sales and marketing director Arie Barendreg at London Produce Show in June, 2015
Founded in 1997, Catherine Group has become one of the leading companies in Armenia.
Since 2000, fruit import has been one of its main activities and the company has established strong business relations with suppliers worldwide.
The group owns a cold store which is one of the largest in the Transcaucasia region and has equipment for storage, packing and fruit ripening.
The fruit is distributed through various channels, one of which is by Catherine Group’s own retail chain of fruit and vegetable stores, including 34 shops in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia).
Catherine Group is today Armenia’s largest banana supplier and accounts for 70% of its citrus fruit imports. It also holds a dominant share of imports of other fruits, as well.
The company focuses on supplying better customer service and product quality.
A delegation from the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, including the head of its Department of Agriculture, Jiang Shaofeng, visited Fruits de Ponent last week.
They toured the trading cooperative’s facilities in Lleida, as well as learning about the company’s fruit production, packaging and marketing. Fruits de Ponent said the visitors showed interest in exporting its fruit to China.
Plan to increase Catalan trade with China
The visit was organised by Prodeca, which promotes the Catalan agri-food industry, and was one of a series of activities it hosted for the delegation over July 1-3. As part of its China Plan, Prodeca aims to increase Catalonia’s trade with Asia in food and other agricultural products.
During its visit, the Chinese delegation signed a memorandum of understanding with Catalan government representatives designed to foster cooperation and mutual assistance between them in the agri-food industry area, and closer institutional collaboration.
sources:
Fruits de Ponent (source of photos)
Prodeca
Record level extreme heat and humidity are causing significant quality issues for strawberries out of California, reports Atlanta-based foodservice distributor Royal Food Service.
It said the situation is being experienced by all growers in the area. Quality issues being reported from the fields are bruising, soft spots, smaller sizes, some mildew, white or soft shoulders, and over-ripeness.
“To avoid further quality issues, it is very important to keep these strawberries cold until ready to use. Royal is doing everything possible to ensure that the cold chain remains unbroken,” Royal Food Service said in news published on its web site on July 1.
Image: by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (public domain) via Wikimedia Commons
The exotic fruit juice Noni juice and a high pressure fruit juice – made using new production techniques – are examples of novel foods that have won approval to go on sale in the EU in recent years.
But according to a recent European Parliament briefing paper, the current authorisation process for novel foods is seen by the food industry as complex, expensive and time-consuming. As well, other stakeholders agree the current novel foods regulation, urgently needs updating to reflect scientific and technological advances.
A previous bid at revision, in 2008, failed due to disagreement over food derived from cloned animals. Questions related to cloning were therefore left out of the European Commission’s reform proposal in the 2013 which would make changes including the removal of the former novel food categories; centralisation of the authorisation process; a shift from applicant-based to generic authorisations; and simplification of procedure for traditional foods from third countries.
Interinstitutional trilogue negotiations started last December 2014 and the Committee of Member States’ Permanent Representatives (Coreper) approved the resulting compromise text on 10 June, with the EP’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) following suit on June 25. The text is now expected to be voted in plenary in October 2015.
According to the briefing paper, the issues which proved to be difficult to negotiate were nanotechnology, cloning and parliamentary scrutiny over the list of authorised novel foods.
It said the trilogue agreed that food from cloned animals would be retained under the Novel Foods Regulation during the transitional period until the two separate proposals currently being discussed come into force.
It also reached an agreement on nanotechnology, setting a 50% threshold content for nanoparticles to be defined as ‘nano’ but to be lowered progressively, through delegated acts, as advances in technology make it possible to detect smaller amounts.
The paper said nanotechnology is a field of applied sciences dealing with manipulation of matter at atomic and molecular scale (less than 100 nanometers). “This emerging technology could have important applications in the food and feed sector in the future. Nanotechnologies can be used in the food industry, for example in food packaging, or to improve taste of food, to reduce sugar or salt content or to slow down microbial activity.”
However, it also noted the potential risks of nanotechnology for food safety and public health are still hard to assess. “Some nanomaterials, for example, may have the potential to enter the human body through the skin or through mucous membranes (e.g. in the respiratory or alimentary tract), possibly causing health risks.”
It said there so far no accurate definition of nanomaterial in the EU. The European Commission recommended a definition of ‘nanomaterial’ as material where 50% or more of the particles are less than 100 nanometers in size, but EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority), in view of the current uncertainties, proposes that a lower nanoparticle threshold of 10% should be considered for food-related applications.
source: European Parliament briefing paper “Updating rules on novel foods to keep up with scientific advances”
England’s second apricot crop is is set to be six times that of last year, thanks to near perfect growing conditions.
According to Tesco, early estimates are that English growers will produce about 200 tons – up from the 30 grown in England last year when the first English apricot crop became available.
In a press release, the the UK retailer said the first English apricots of the season went on sale on Monday and growers are reporting great quality fruit.
It also reported that last year British shoppers bought 33% more apricots than the previous year, according to Kantar data.
Tesco said careful breeding has made it possible to now grow apricots on a commercial basis in the UK, something which until a few years ago was very hard to do because of the climate.
Tesco’s English apricots are produced by one of the UK’s largest stone fruit growers, Nigel Bardsley, whose farm is based near Staplehurst, in Kent. He has 5,000 orange fleshed, French type apricot trees across 8 ha and produced his first commercial quantities – about 15 tons – last year. This year he anticipates up to 120 tons.
“We’ve had near perfect growing conditions so far this year with a cold winter to help let the trees rest; a mild spring to allow for good pollination and a warm, dry summer so far to boost growth. This combined with a unique large day/night temperature differentiation, has led to fantastic red blushed and incredibly sweet apricots,” Bardsley said.
source: Tesco
Carrefour launched its second Easy Carrefour store in Shanghai on June 30.
The new proximity format store is located on Chaling North Road, Xuhui District.
In a press release, the French retail group said its Easy Carrefour format “is an innovation as well as a breakthrough in profitable mode. In recent years, Carrefour has been trying various ways to open up a larger market, including eCommerce and convenient stores,” it said.
Carrefour’s proximity stores sell takeaway food
Easy Carrefour stores cover up to 280m2, with two levels. The first floor offers fast food, cooked food, dairy products, salads, and semi-cooked food, as well as shampoo and washing powder and some French brands. On the second floor there is an open space with free Wi-Fi where customers can stay for a rest or to have a meal, Carrefour said.
China expected to be growth leader
On announcing its third quarter results last year, Carrefour said it was continuing its expansion in China despite “a frugal consumption environment.”
Carrefour was the first retailer to open a hypermarket in China – in 1995, in Beijing. It now manages about 240, across 73 cities there.
A hypermarkert opened by Carrefour in China in December
Carrefour CEO Georges Plassat has said Carrefour plans to continue expanding its market share in China, focusing on “newly developing urban areas.” Both China and Brazil “will continue to be growth leaders for the future. Income levels will increase substantially in emerging countries, which should bolster our business over the medium term.”
According to China Daily USA, Carrefour is expected to open 15 new hypermarkets in China this year and roll out more convenience stores.
source: Carrefour
Interpera – the international pear congress of organised by AREFLH – takes place this November 19-21 in the Italian city of Ferrara, within the Emilia Romagna region well-known for growing the Abate Fetel pear.
This major event for the pear world will be held within the context of the first European fair dedicated to the pear – FuturPera.
Interpera brings together the growers and other key players in the international arena to discuss key technical and economic topics. Reports and presentations to be released and discussed at the conference include on:
For more information or to register: http://interpera.weebly.com/
AREFLH is the Assembly of the European Regions producing Fruit, Vegetables and ornamental Plants: www.areflh.org
Berries and grapes together account for half the total value of all fruit sold in Ukraine, according to statistics presented to delegates from Ukraine and European countries at the Berries of Ukraine 2015 6th International Conference, organised by APK-Inform: Vegetables & Fruits project.
The conference was held in May in Kiev and hosted 160 agrarians who heard the presentations of professionals concerning the challenges and benefits of the berries sector.
It is possible strawberry exports from Ukraine will be at record level this season, said Tatiana Getman, head of the project. Last year, the country exported 300 tons, and this year the amount may reach 1,000 tons.
Last season, cherries and sour cherries topped the exports. However, this year, with the embargo imposed on Ukrainian fruit, problems with exports may arise, Russia being the top buyer of Ukrainian products.
Growing demand for niche berries
At the same time, the demand for berries at the local market keeps growing, and the number of farmers willing to grow them increases faster than the interest in any other crop. Therefore it is essential to choose the right strategy from the very beginning, said Oleg Bosyi, international expert in the sector.
He recommended starting to grow traditional berries, such as strawberry and raspberry. As for experienced produces, they are interested in offering niche berries as well. Blueberry, bramble and honeysuckle are niche berries chosen by more and more consumers.
Gooseberries
(Image by neurovelho via Wikimedia Commons)
The demand for cranberry and for gooseberry keeps growing too, the latter being one of the most prospective niche berry, believes Alexander Yarechshenko, science PhD from the Horticultural Institute. It is a pity gooseberry is wrongly forgotten by the farmers, he said. There are currently 600 ha of gooseberry in Ukraine, only 1/3 of them being cultivated commercially. At the same time, demand keeps growing, and gooseberry production has many advantages: the use of the plantation is 15-20 years, and harvesting may be done by machines.
Low Ukraine grape consumption
Meanwhile, Ukrainian table grape producers are less optimistic. Per capita grape consumption in Ukraine remains very low – 1.1 kg against the 12 kg recommended by European health organisations. The reasons are high prices, poor production conditions and lack of modern cold store facilities.
Optimal crop protection among other topics covered
The berries conference program also addressed export potential, the current situation of the frozen berries market, and discussion of new sales channels. The delegates attended master-classes by leading Ukrainian and foreign experts who explained how to choose optimal crop protection and optimal approaches to business barriers in Ukraine in general.
NB
The 6th International Conference Berries of Ukraine-2015: Frozen Produce & Fresh Market
Gooseberries: Image by neurovelho (own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
