Agrial Fresh Produce has launched its Florette brand into the foodservice arena; introducing Florette Foodservice.
Florette Foodservice is launching a new high quality branded range to help wholesalers, caterers and foodservice operators of all sizes to overcome the availability and quality issues that the industry has faced over recent years.
Agrial is a farmer owned cooperative made up of a network of over 12,000 passionate farmers with over 5,500 hectares of fields and 829 hectares of greenhouse tunnels.
Gwyn Jones, Head of Commercial for Florette Foodservice tells Wholesale Manager how wholesalers can use the BBQ occasion to maximise sales of the Florette Foodservice range and what Florette is doing in the area of sustainability.
Tell us about the Florette Foodservice range – why was the Florette brand launched into the foodservice sector?
Florette’s foodservice range has been created to meet the needs of culinary teams across all channels of foodservice. We may be biased, but our products are the best on the market for freshness, vibrancy, taste and all year-round availability.
Our reputation within the retail sector helps to boost our credibility in the foodservice arena and positions us as a key brand within the category.
We’ve been working successfully within the foodservice arena for many years and have an excellent track-record. In recent times, we’ve been approached by more and more customers looking for high quality products that they can rely on to mitigate the risk of service and quality issues they have experienced due to increased climate and supply chain challenges.
Florette Foodservice caters for operators large and small, with a bespoke range of foodservice products, that are backed by the expertise, supply chain resilience and quality assurance of our parent company Agrial.
What kind of products are in the range?
Florette, the UK’s No. 1 salad brand* has a range of high-quality branded products to help wholesalers, caterers, and foodservice operators of all sizes to overcome the availability and quality issues that the industry has faced over recent years.
The Florette Foodservice range includes everything from burger lettuce, iceberg, mixed leaf salads, coleslaw mixes, tomatoes, cucumbers, beetroot and more.
* Nielsen & Kantar 52 w/e December 23 2023
Where is the range available?
The range is currently available via Bidfood / Oliver Kay Produce. Operators interested in finding out more can email sales@florette.com.
Tell us about the quality credentials of the range – how do you ensure top quality?
Florette comes from three farmer owned co-operatives which have merged to form a member base of 12,000 farmers.
Our farmers are committed to delivering quality and freshness with everything they grow. They carefully and responsibly manage the soil and monitor water, sunlight, and temperature to make sure that conditions are perfect, so our salad can flourish and taste great.
How can wholesalers use the BBQ occasion to maximise sales of the Florette Foodservice range?
Great-tasting salads are a key feature of many BBQs, providing the perfect pairing to complement the rich meat tastes and balance out flavours.
Served as part of an entrée, appetiser or side dish, salads are a staple menu option. The vibrancy boosts plates in colour and texture and adds to the overall appeal of the dish.
What work is Florette doing in the area of sustainability?
As a farmer owned business, Agrial cares for the planet as much as it cares for its salad. Agrial Group has committed to cut direct greenhouse emissions by 50% and reduce its carbon footprint by 35% by 2035. Agrial Fresh Produce was recently awarded a Gold EcoVadis rating, recognising the company’s ongoing commitment to protect the environment and promote sustainable farming methods.
EcoVadis is a globally recognised and trusted business sustainability rating which assesses an organisation on labour and human rights standards, ethics, procurement practices and environmental impact. All assessments are externally verified by EcoVadis’ sustainability experts, and an overall score is provided to highlight the organisation’s sustainability position for industry benchmarking.
As well as this, Agrial Fresh Produce has been working on an exciting initiative with McDonald’s UK and their supply chain leader Martin Brower UK, having secured the company’s first completely electric heavy goods vehicle (HGV) in October last year.
The EV truck was the first step in a plan to increase Agrial’s share of electric vehicles in the fleet and will expand as the technology allows greater range for nationwide distribution. Agrial is the first Fresh Produce supplier within the UK to deliver to McDonald’s with an electric HGV.
Agrial’s next step on their greener haulage plan includes replacing its current fleet with energy-efficient, third-generation engine vehicles, delivering a reduction in the company’s CO2 emissions by 800 tonnes by the end of 2024.
What are the major trends and developments affecting your category and your customers, and how are you responding?
One of the biggest developments affecting the sector is supply issues caused by changes to the climate and the repercussions of ongoing world conflicts. Florette Foodservice has a dedicated farm in Colchester that is perfectly placed to grow salad throughout the peak summer season. Having this operation in the UK means our products have fewer miles to travel, extending shelf life, freshness, and taste. The Florette Foodservice range is packed within a dedicated and specialised operation here in the UK, which again strengthens our supply chain resiliency and product quality to our customers.
What advice would you give to wholesalers to maximise sales?
Wholesalers should ensure they’re stocking a variety of Florette Foodservice’s range to guarantee the best taste, freshness, and all year-round availability for customers and consumers. If chefs are looking for ingredients to create a salad, they’ll be looking to stock up on a variety of products such as lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber. If one component lacks the freshness guarantee that Florette Foodservice provides, the whole dish will be negatively impacted and potentially disappoint the consumer as a result.
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