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Anyone familiar with upmarket British supermarket chain Marks & Spencer might not expect one of its star fruit and veg performers over the past year to be a two-kilo bag of potatoes.

That’s not to say it has stopped innovating at the premium end of the market – something proven by the launch of an easy-peeler grapefruit, or the three million home delivery fruit and veg boxes it sold during the UK’s first lockdown.

but with the pandemic turning received wisdom on its head in the last 12 months, the impressive growth achieved by every single item of fresh produce in the retailer’s value range Remarksable does seem to make sense.

As Lisa Raschia, head of trading in fresh produce, horticulture and frozen at M&S, explains, interest in those value lines and, crucially, demand for simpler products that can be used in home-cooked dishes is notably higher than it was this time last year.

As a result, the company is managing to change perceptions about the kind of service it offers its customers.

“The upside [of the pandemic] is that, in less than 12 months, we’ve achieved some of the hardest bits we were going after, which is really around attracting family shoppers, and attracting more of a large basket shop,” she tells Chris White in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox.

“We’ve always been known more as a prepared and convenience produce retailer,” she says. “But for us, Remarksable has been really strong. It performed brilliantly through lockdown one and we added lines to the range for the September launch. It’s doing fantastically.”

While the Remarksable 2kg potato line may be the biggest success story, with sales up almost 200 per cent on the year, the whole range is performing strongly, says Raschia, with even the worst performer up 25 per cent.

“Clearly there is this trend towards value, towards great quality at a great price,” she adds, “but also clearly scratch cooking, because these are all whole-head produce that people have to do something with. We’ve seen more lunch occasions coming through too – so salads really buoyant, peppers 50 per cent up, salad onions nearly 40 per cent up.”

M&S shoppers are also looking more and more for products thought to help their immunity. “Ginger’s up 100 per cent, we’ve tripled our sales on turmeric, citrus is up 15 per cent on the year but actually in lockdown one the sales level was so extreme that we launched a nutrition campaign called Eat in Colour where we tried to highlight other products on the shelf that were high in Vitamin C or any immunity benefits.”

Raschia goes on to consider other recent trends affecting fresh produce, including the rise of the online retail channel (in which M&S is now heavily involved in partnership with Ocado) and the challenge of having so many of its convenience stores closed.

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

During what has been a tumultuous and unpredictable four years for the US politically and socially, it’s fair to say that life in the country’s fresh fruit and vegetable business has been a little less uncertain.

However, as in most parts of the world, the impact of Covid-19 has been considerable. In particular, the closure of foodservice outlets has had a dramatic effect on a market where previously around 35 per cent of the fruit and veg eaten, and about half of all the food, would have been consumed outside of the home.

But with a new president in the White House, and crucially with a new administration in place, it seems an air of renewed optimism could help shape the US produce market to keep growing over the coming years,

For Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive of the Washington DC-based United Fresh Produce Association, recent political events in the city were a watershed for the country’s democracy and also its fresh produce industry.

Witnessed by millions around the world, the Capitol riot on 6 January and Joe Biden’s inauguration exactly two weeks later represented a real turning point in the state of affairs, he suggests.

“It was a momentous event in the history of this country and there is obviously going to be a change,” he tells Chris White in the latest episode of Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s weekly series of fresh produce conversations. “President Biden has come in and set a different tone from the very beginning. It was inclusive, reaching out to people who disagree.

The art of disagreement, rather than the art of the deal, has always been more the fresh produce industry’s style, Stenzel suggests. “I think about us in the produce industry. Oh my gosh, buyers and sellers are negotiating, buying and selling every single day. For some reason, our politicians in the United States and many other countries sadly don’t seem to have that skill set that we in the fresh produce industry have.”

He adds: “But I do have that little bit of optimism. I believe President Biden will be reaching out, changing that mood, and re-establishing America’s connections around the world.”

That optimism will be much needed of course as the US produce industry continues to grapple with the pandemic. According to Stenzel, the trade is “functioning pretty well” despite having to contend with a major shift in its supply chains to retail. Spending power is certain to be an issue for more consumers in the near future, but he believes the big lesson of Covid for many will be that eating fruit and veg is critical for short and long-term health.

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Covid continues to cast a long shadow over the European fresh produce business.

In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, trade association Freshfel Europe set about assessing the impact of the crisis on Europe’s fruit and vegetable trade.

Now, after nearly a year of unprecedented disruption to several parts of the produce supply network – from production all the way through to wholesale, retail and foodservice – the financial impact of the crisis is becoming more clear.

Despite strong demand especially through the supermarkets, costs have increased significantly. Freshfel’s early estimate put additional operating costs for the European fresh produce chain at roughly €500m per month, as companies did everything they could to keep fruit and veg growing and flowing through the market.

But now, almost 12 months on, the organisation is looking further ahead, to gauge the pandemic’s longer-term effects. “I think Covid has also started to change consumer behaviour and the sector needs to adapt to that,” says Freshfel’s general delegate Philippe Binard.

Returning to Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s series of fresh produce industry conversations, for his second appearance on the show, Binard discusses how not just Covid but also Brexit. the EU’s Green Deal policy, online retailing, and the buying attitudes of younger consumers are all affecting the fresh produce business in Europe.

He also explains how longer-term concerns over the economy are going to play a far larger role in consumer behaviour in the coming months and years – something which will make consumer marketing campaigns like Freshfel’s own SpeakUp4FruitVeg promotion all the more crucial in building and sustaining demand.

“In the first wave of the pandemic, I think consumers have been keen to look for healthier products,” he recalls. “They were in an environment where they wanted to be reassured, so they were looking for more natural products, more local products, more pre-packed products. And there has been shift in the attitudes of consumers, moving to online shopping also.”

While all of these factors have certainly changed the way consumers shop and the way retailers service that demand, Binard believes the coming months could bring more new trends.

“As we move to the second and third waves, there is another important element which is growing uncertainty about the economic situation,” he says. “People are losing their jobs, and that could have an impact on consumer attitudes. Remember in the first wave everyone was looking for premium, organic products. I think this is over and consumers are looking out much more for [lower] prices.”

He adds: “We will have to see which of these changes will be the short-term reaction, and which will be more permanent in the attitudes of consumers in the longer term.”

Earlier this week, Freshfel Europe and the OECD published the first ever extensive study of fresh produce sold through online vendors, an area of the market that it said had seen considerable growth but also huge variety in terms of methods of distribution, marketing and so on.

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

How has Covid-19 changed our attitudes as consumers? And what will happen next as a result?

Two hugely important questions for any company, but especially so for those involved in the fruit and vegetables business, which has seen massive spikes in demands as well as severe shocks to some of its supply chains as a result of the pandemic.

Ben Page, chief executive of leading consumer research firm Ipsos Mori, says he believes the pandemic has massively changed behaviour all over the world, although it remains to be seen how consumer values will be altered in the longer term.

"I think you've got that greater interest in health, which is not surprising in a global pandemic," he tells Fruitnet's Chris White during the latest episode of Fruitnet's conversation series Fruitbox.

"And I think the big thing for many of the brands we work with in the FMCG space is a consumer need for reassurance, familiarity, and security."

In addition, Page explains, there has been a massive rise in the number of people wanting to buy local.

"By which I mean their country market for goods, and certainly rise in national pride in many markets," he comments. "Wanting to know a bit more about provenance – it was a trend that was there before; it seems to have been accelerated."

And finally, largely out of necessity, people are eating at home far more. "Out-of-home eating will be under pressure for some time, to be quite honest," he adds. "And even after we're freed from government lockdowns, a lot of people will still have their income squeezed."

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

To say that Christmas means a great deal for dried fruit and nut suppliers is like saying chocolate companies quite enjoy Easter.

In fact, for Europe’s largest dried fruit and nut company, Importaco, the festive period usually contributes around 40 per cent of its total annual sales.

But as the group’s chief executive Toño Pons explains in the latest edition of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox, the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have sparked even greater demand for these products.

“During the last lockdown, we had some examples of sales increasing 50 per cent, and what we discovered was that customers are much more health-conscious,” he notes. “In 2021, there is an expectation for growth of around 5 per cent in the market for nuts worldwide.”

The fact that nuts and dried fruit are now seen as good alternatives to other less healthy snacks is a very positive thing for Importaco and companies like it.

“Consumers now recognise that nuts are a source of minerals, vitamins, proteins and healthy fats,” Pons adds. “They’re starting to think more and more that nuts are an essential part of a healthy diet. Equally, dried fruit are a very popular choice among kids and sports people.”

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Raffaele Benedetti thinks grading technology could soon be able to pick out the best fruit according to its nutritional qualities, a development that could open the door to products being marketed on the basis of specific health benefits.

“I think the next step will be in this direction,” he explains in the latest episode of Fruitbox. “The first step was to select for size and colour, then for defects and soft fruit, and now [sugar] and acidity. So why not, nutritional content could be something that the market asks for soon."

Benedetti knows better than most the role that technology has played in boosting fruit sales, and especially for example in the recent phenomenal growth in blueberry sales around the world.

Thanks to hi-tech camera systems like the ones developed by his company Unitec, suppliers are now able to pick out the best fruit according to a range of different considerations, helping them achieve more consistent quality and grow their business as a result.

For now, says Benedetti, the machinery is going a step further and enabling suppliers to grade their fruit according to taste. For the blueberry business, that could be another game-changer. “What this means is they will not find a bad one in with the good ones, or a super-sweet one in with [more] acidic ones,” he explains.

Benedetti suggests that a recent drive towards automation in the field will mean greater demand for technology that can offer better product consistency, “Today, harvesting of blueberries is becoming an issue,” he comments. “In the US, they are focused mainly on mechanical harvesting, so today it’s very difficult to do different harvests on the same plant. Most of the time, they do one harvest with a machine. So it’s very important to differentiate the different sizes and internal quality.”

Benedetti was taking part in this year’s Global Berry Congress, which took place as a virtual event on 10 December. The event attracted more than 550 people from around 45 different countries.

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Change is in the air as the UK prepares to cut loose from its trading alliance with the EU. When it comes to banana imports, however, it’s likely to be business as usual from 1 January 2021, even if the country’s importers remain wary of potential disruption to the labour provision and logistical services on which they depend.

“That’s where we’re probably spending most of our time and energy, on making sure that those two things run as smoothly as possible,” says Robert Wells, chief executive of the UK’s biggest banana company SH Pratt, who was speaking in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox. “Those countries that we’re sourcing from have already made individual agreements with the UK government to continue.”

In many respects, the single-variety, low-margin banana trade represents very much the steady ship on a troubled sea as the UK’s fresh produce importers look to steer their business safely over the Brexit cliff-edge and land in calmer waters.

The idea that people are not prepared to pay more for bananas – in marked contrast to berries, the category that has now overtaken bananas as the UK’s most valuable produce category – is one that does not seem to trouble Wells.

“Of course I’d like to see greater value put on bananas and greater value going back to the growers, who have to take the risk every day of the week, every week of the year, to grow bananas in all sorts of challenging conditions,” he says.

“However, we must recognise that bananas are now regarded in the retail world as a staple item, and in the same basket as potatoes, carrots, topfruit and other things that are not really in the same category as berries. I’ve seen the rise of berries, but I don’t think that has detracted from the appeal of bananas.”

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

The looming possibility of a no-deal Brexit might be a major headache for some in the fresh produce business, but for the commercial director of one of Belgium’s largest fruit exporters it’s uncertainty, rather than the probable impact, that is causing most concern.

In late November, as BFV’s Marc Evrard awaited the outcome of talks between London and Brussels to agree the terms of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU, he told Fruitbox he remained happy that any Brexit-related bumps in the road would not be insurmountable.

“I think probably the market will still be there,” he commented. “It might be slightly more complicated or more hassle to reach the market. Definitely there are challenges – tariffs or congestion at entry points, for example – but these will not have any effect on the shelf-life of the fruit. So I don’t have any worries there. We can easily deliver one day to the next, and be there just in time.”

That said, could Brexit be about to cloud the UK’s trading landscape. and perhaps nudge a proportion of the group’s sizeable Conference pear deal in the UK, where it sold 28,000 tonnes last year, towards other less troublesome markets? In fact, BFV appears to be especially well prepared for such an eventuality.

“The thing is, at the start of the noughties we were already aware of the fact that we didn’t want to depend too much on one large market as a whole. At that time, we had Russia in mind, so we started working out different scenarios on targeting other markets,” Evrard explains, referring to recent expansion into India, China, Brazil and Mexico.

“Some of these might even have looked utopian, but simultaneously we also targeted markets closer to home, like Spain and Germany. Go back ten yeas and we hardly sold a kilo of Conference pears in the German market. Now we sell roughly 17m kilos there each year.”

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Investing in Peruvian horticulture is very much a safe bet, despite the political unrest seen in the country over the past couple of weeks.

That’s according to Steve Magami, co-founder and chairman of Agrovision, who was speaking to Chris White in the latest episode of Fruitnet’sweekly conversation series Fruitbox.

Based in Lima and Los Angeles, Agrovision has invested millions of dollars to build up more than 2,000ha of production in Peru – mainly blueberries, but also grapes, asparagus and avocados.

For Magami, the upheaval witnessed in recent days should not be a major cause for concern among those who depend on the country’s agricultural output.

“Volatility in politics is nothing new to Peru, but whoever has been in power over the last few years has been business-friendly, and we don’t see that changing,” he explains.

“Of course, politics gets the headlines, but fundamentally Peru continues its strong growth in industries like agriculture. It’s a vital, strategic sector for the government and the country’s largest employer.”

Peru is the official partner country at Asia Fruit Logistica ON, Asia’s leading fresh produce trade exhibition, which takes place online from 18-20 November, as well as a sponsor of Fruitnet’s conference event Asiafruit Congress ON, which was held on 17 November.

You can sign up for Asia Fruit Logistica ON here: www.asiafruitlogistica.com

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

The importance of Asian markets to Peruvian fresh produce companies continues to grow, according to Mario Ocharan, export director of the country’s foreign trade and tourism body PromPerú.

Speaking to Chris White during the latest episode of Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s series of conversations about the fresh produce business, Ocharan underlines the growing opportunity that exists for Peruvain fruit and vegetables in various Asian countries.

Next week, Peru is the official partner country at Asia Fruit Logistica ON, Asia’s leading fresh produce trade exhibition, which takes place online from 18-20 November, as well as a sponsor of Fruitnet’s conference event Asiafruit Congress ON, which is on 17 November.

“Asia is one of our priorities in terms of export promotion,” Ocharan comments, noting recent impressive growth in sales to China, South Korea, India and Japan.

That expansion in China has particularly impressive, he explains, with sales now more than US$600m compared with half that figure only three years previously. “So we are expecting to see increasing improvement in the next few years in the relations we have with companies in China and Asia in general,” he adds.

You can sign up Asia Fruit Logistica ON and Asiafruit Congress ON for free by using the discount code: FRUITNET20

Visit Asiafruit Congress ON – www.asiafruitcongress.com

Visit Asia Fruit Logistica ON – www.asiafruitlogistica.com

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis.

Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry.

To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com