The intense media focus on food miles has brought the issue of domestic produce to the fore. British produce accounts for over 50% of vegetable volume sales but less than 10% of fruit volume in Britain. However, there is a positive story with sales growth and increasing market share for British produce as it out-performs the wider market. We are also seeing similar trends in other grocery markets. Within the cheese category, British territorial cheeses continue to show strong growth and increase their share of the market. Similarly, British ales and ciders provide positive stories.
It would appear that provenance is becoming increasingly important to the British consumer. Seductive advertising campaigns highlighting provenance demonstrate the communication reaching British shoppers. The food miles concept has received significant media attention but is British really best? The centralised supply chain systems of major retailers often supersede local market structures. Domestically grown produce can be required to travel to a central depot before being distributed around the country and therefore often back to the growing region. Technological developments in domestic growing often require considerable energy resources which are not registered in food miles. A recent Defra report points out the energy required to grow British tomatoes, in terms of heating glass houses, is greater than the energy required to grow and transport Spanish tomatoes to Britain.
Consumers demand more choice all year around, so to what extent are they to blame for global sourcing and technologically enhanced growing seasons? Consumers expect produce lines to be available outside the traditional British growing season. Strawberries are a prime example of increasing consumer demands. Over the 12-week Christmas period in 2006 (12 w/e 31 December 2006) 20% of GB households bought strawberries. As we become accustomed to the availability of these products throughout the year consumer demand for these products outside their traditional domestic growing season facilitates the supply.
The concept of food miles may have limitations but media attention around British produce is likely to increase as we have seen with issues such as fair trade and responsible packaging. The topic of food miles and British produce is set to become another key factor in retailer identity and differentiation.
SOURCE: Checkout August 2007
