Archive for 'Supermarket – produce'

I travel half way around the world, and what’s the first thing I see upon entering a supermarket in Rotterdam?

This was during the industry tour mentioned a blog post or so back – so I was in the company of other IFPS members from countries such as the US, Canada, South Africa, and Chile.  They were extremely envious and wanted to know how I had managed to get the display put there just for the benefit of the tour!  Much as I would like to think I have that much influence in the global produce industry, I had to come clean and admit that it was all Zespri’s doing.  This image is a wonderful example of New Zealand’s success in the international produce industry.

I have discussed Zespri in previous posts, and say what you like about them (and Turners & Growers have had a lot to say) regarding the single desk position they hold over New Zealand’s kiwifruit exports, but you cannot deny that Zespri is extremely effective at selling kiwifruit for value added prices in the very competitive international market.

Question is, can Zespri’s success be emulated in other New Zealand produce categories without single desk structures and government regulations?

Just when I thought I couldn’t be surprised by any prepack produce idea, I came across a really nifty one:

DIY fresh guacamole!

While guacamole is readily available off the shelf in jars, this really must be the best solution for those who like their dips truly fresh and preservative free.

When is Superbowl Sunday again?

How about a prepack for salsa? 

Maybe just this once I’d allow a small appliance promo stand to appear in my produce department – after all, you’re going to need a blender to get the most out of this prepack concept!

I was in Europe in the last week of May to attend the Spring Meeting of the International Federation for Produce Standards Board being held in Rotterdam.  While there, I was able to enjoy a very well organized and fascinating industry tour arranged by IFPS member association Frug I Com, which took in a range of fresh produce sites that included glasshouse, packing and retail operations.

As always, I had my “what’s happening in the nearest supermarket fresh produce department” eye open, and this is what I saw:

This is a wall of panklaar – and a very large and well stocked wall it was.  For non-Dutch speakers, panklaar literally means “ready for the pan” or “immediately useable”.  Basically, it was a dizzying array of prepared fresh produce in various combinations and permutations for the householder to take home and cook with no fuss, no mess and no phone call to mother for instructions required.  Flatmate heaven!  How long before the Europeans have this available via vending machine at the railway station?

And look at what can be done with potatoes:

Anybody could cook well balanced, varied, fresh, nutritious, 5+aDay meals at home with this sort of prepacked produce available at the local supermarket – no excuses.

Thing is, I don’t see this in New Zealand supermarkets.  And I have spent quite some time since taking these photos wondering why I don’t see it.

Is our fresh produce industry not capable of producing this type of pre-prepared, value added packaged product?  We have some very innovative people in our industry, so surely the answer is no.

Is there not the demand for it?  Well, there are some “soup mix” prepacks of prepared and chopped vegetables in NZ supermarkets, so that’s a start.  And with all these chef-led supermarket adverts on the TV these days, how hard would it be to create a market?  Remember Alison Gofton’s Food in a Minute series causing a run on Watties’ frozen pompom potatoes?

Is there not the scale of market to make this possible?  How much does Europe’s much bigger population base make this type of prepack operation feasible, sustainable and worth investing the capital, versus doing it here for only 4 million people?  Would we be only talking about the one or so million urban dwellers here in Auckland?

Questions, questions, questions.

And here’s another one for you thinking fresh produce people out there:

Just exactly when is the NZ fresh produce industry going to be taking up this type of product development?

Supermarkt Shopping - The Only Place To Be For The Modern Hunter/Gathererer

“Ye Olde NueZelnd Herald” has yielded another little gem; a reference to US based Better Food Solutions, an organisation which is convinced the solution to the food miles challenge could be overcome by building glasshouses on top of supermarkets. An interesting thought to ponder as I prepare to fly to Berlin for Fruit Logistica. A leisurely pursuit of Better Food Solution’s website comes up with several highlights, amongst them;
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Well, actually , I haven’t been shopping just yet, but I am working myself up to it and what I am writing here kind of relates to shopping, so there….

I had a look at the content of my fruitbowl this morning.  Californian Navel oranges, Ecuadorian bananas, a Philippine pineapple, Hawkes Bay nectarines, apricots and plums and a couple of punnets of local strawberries in the fridge.  I don’t analyse my fruitbowl scientifically everytime I go anywhere near it but it does pay to remind oneself from time to time that one is actually quite spoilt.  You see, I have not grown ANY of the fruit just mentioned.  At best, I could be accused of hunting my fruit bowl content down with skill and vigour in my local supermarket. Even that statement would only be partially true as I do not do all the hunting shopping and the content of our fruit bowl does not exclusively originate in the supermarket anyway.
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