I have had the good fortune to work in the fruit and vegetables industry since the age of 12, primarily within the foodservice and retail markets.
I have seen the massive transition in the UK and European markets where customers have moved away from dealing with wholesalers, to building partnerships directly with the growers of fresh produce. When you work in the sector for that long you see everything that goes on: inconsistent products driving suppliers to re-pack and take the best products out for the supermarkets and leave the foodservice sector with the remnants. It makes it paramount for customers to create specifications and ensure suppliers stick to it.
When I first arrived in Dubai with Compass Group a number of years ago, there were huge fresh produce issues, but with a bit of hard work, some basic consolidation infrastructure and the right logistics in place, it wasn’t long before we were operating hand-in-hand with growers in South Africa, India and across Europe. We were able to introduce a true consistency of product, fixed seasonal pricing, the correct due diligence and full traceability. After that we took the decision to personally invest in the Middle East and we acquired 4 Corners. Having consulted with many chefs, we decided to utilise the experience our team has, and begin working on the highly sensitive area of fruits and vegetables.
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In the initial year of introducing produce from our joint venture partner, Grupocatala, we have deliberately trodden carefully, beginning with supplying wholesalers and supermarkets. We understand foodservice inside and out and know F&V extremely well. We knew we had to do our homework thoroughly before trying to service the hotel, restaurant and airline market. This is when we brought Michael Oleynikov on board. We wanted him to work full time on the supply chain from Europe to the UAE.
The feedback from Michael’s journey has allowed us to be thoroughly convinced that we should enter the fresh produce market. We cannot believe how lucky we are to have such an experienced team; our distribution manager has worked in Spain for 15 years within the fresh produce industry, we have two of the Spanish growers’ family based in our office in Dubai, one of our other directors was the purchasing & supply chain director for Compass Middle East, and the former fresh produce buyer for Sainsburys & Tesco joined us from the UK a few weeks ago.
Of course moving into this incredibly sensitive area will take time, and that is why we have started by undertaking an 18-month foodservice market review of the category, instead of charging in. And of course there will be issues, but none that we haven’t seen and managed before in markets much more difficult than the UAE.
As we come to the final weeks of Michael’s internship, I do not believe there have been many surprises in the feedback from the chefs, but his research has enabled us to refresh our market insight. We are ensuring we have thought this through carefully, and that we able to provide optimum products and service. This is very important as so many chase after the fast buck and disappear quickly when the going gets tough.
A time will soon come when customers will demand a passport for every tomato for example, as they do in many other countries around the world already. They pay money and need the confidence that what they are putting into their bodies is true. The only way of truly guaranteeing this is a basic ‘seed to plate’ supply chain.
So, what next? We will announce our intentions shortly to our customer base. There is huge potential to make a real difference, but we have to do things differently ourselves and do it right! We intend to remove the fiction that says you cannot add value and have a big impact on improving the food cost. It simply isn’t true; you just have to know what you are doing.
Paul Grimes has over 35 years’ F&B experience, and is one of the owners & MD of food service experts 4 Corner General Trading LLC. Michael Oleynikov is a student at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality. His internship is sponsored by 4 Corners and Spanish F&V producer Grupocatala.
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