Interview with Mr. Kevin Peat • Buying Manager from Mack Multiples

A great interview from www.melontoday.com :

THE MELON EXPERTS TALKS Interview with Mr. Kevin Peat • Buying Manager from Mack Multiples
“From a quality point of view the attributes of the “Siglo” define what the UK consumer value most”
Mr. Kevin Peat, as a Buying Manager within Mack Multiples travels the Northern and Southern Hemisphere in search of the best melons to supply the UK market all year round. As a melon expert, he talked to S&G Melon Today about Galia melons and the challenges that Almeria faces as a melon supplier for the UK market.

Q. Could you please provide relevant information about your company?
A. Fresca Group Ltd is one of the leading suppliers of fresh produce to the UK. Through an expanding group of companies, Fresca sources, supplies, prepares, packs and delivers fresh produce to supermarkets, retailers and wholesalers, food service companies and caterers.
One of the companies within the Fresca Group is MackMultiples, specialized in supplying bananas, pineapples, stone fruit, berries, melons, grapes, salads and vegetables all year round to multiple retailers in the UK, foodservice and wholesale.

Q. As one of the largest suppliers of melons to the UK, what are the traits in melons that the UK retail sector values the most?
A. This depends greatly on the retailer, the season and the economic climate. After 10 years in the melon sector I have seen priorities change focus frequently, however, it is possible to pick out the main priorities.

Value for money – This means the correct balance for the consumer between quality and cost. This is often difficult to achieve given the seasonality and volatility of the melon sector.

Consistency of offer – This not only relates to volume availability but to variety and type as well. Netted European Charentais, Italian Supermarket type, Rock Melons and Western Shipper type melons are all marketed under the “Cantaloupe” banner – Long life “Millenium” and “Solar” types are marketed alongside the short life varieties such as Hazera’s shorter life “6003 “ and “6004” under the galia banner. This leads to a wide range of different melons being offered to consumers who find it confusing. A variety they bought and enjoyed one week will often be different to what is available the following week, this can lead to disappointment and subsequently the consumer does not commit to that all important repeat purchase.

Food safety and integrity – The UK retailers do not insist on the range of production and ethical good practice standards currently enforced for no reason. These are driven by legitimate consumer needs and concerns which all contribute to the consumer’s decision to shop with certain retailers.


Q. What is the early Galia melon variety of reference from Almeria, the one that holds leadership in the UK market? What are the key values of this variety?
A. The variety that jumps to mind immediately is the “Siglo” variety grown widely in Almeria during the early season. To say it holds the leadership in the UK market would be difficult as individual melon varieties are not something that the UK consumer is aware of unlike other sectors such as apples, pears and stone fruit. Good “Siglo” offers an enjoyable balanced flavour (not just sweetness) and softer texture when eating.

Q. From your position, what is your experience with the early Galia melon varieties from Almeria?
A. My personal experience is vast and varied as every season from Almeria has been different; the one thing you can always rely on is that you cannot rely on Almeria to offer the same challenges and opportunities as the previous season. Almeria is driven by many markets with many different needs and expectations; subsequently this is reflected in the consistency of offer. It is also important to understand the ever changing pressures that growers, co-ops and marketing organisations face whether they are climatic, economic or market driven. All these factors directly impact on the final offer to the retailer and consumer.

The two most influential factors that are impacting the UK Market in recent seasons have been:
1. The trend to switch to the long life varieties in the later weeks of the season resulting in a noticeable change in the quality and type of melon offered, and
2. More important is the lack of availability of fruit meeting the ideal size expectations of the retailer and consumer. In recent years the volume of small fruit offered to the UK has increased, combined with the increases in prices and more recently the poor exchange rate between the Pound an the Euro this is resulting in a very poor “Value for Money” (small fruit high price) offer for the consumer. What is concerning is that the consumer is now voting with their pockets and not buying Almerian melons.

Q. What do UK consumers value the most in early varieties of Galia melons exported from Almeria?
A. From a quality point of view the attributes of the “Siglo”, such as an enjoyable balanced flavour (not just sweetness) and softer texture when eating, define what the UK consumer value most.

Q. As far as Galia melons is concerned, what is your experience or opinion about the last spring season 2007-2008 from Almería?
A. Regarding last season specifically the two main concerns were, as I detailed before, the change in quality due to the trend to switch to the long life varieties in the later weeks of the season, and the increase of small fruit offered to the UK, which results in a poor value for money.
From what we experienced, the trend was continued from previous seasons where we saw lower volumes being offered at prices that are difficult to sustain serving the UK retailers. It would be unfair to say that the all quality was poorer as we received some fantastic fruit from our suppliers; it is however fair to say that there was a considerable amount of very “average” quality fruit in the market place. One would hope that this trend changes direction in the very near future as it is forcing retailers and importers to pursue other alternative origins such as North and West Africa, the Middle East and South America.

Q. Please let us know about consumption of Galia melons in the UK supermarkets.
A. Regarding the market data here are the main points drawn from the UK market figures for the main 4 week period around the 2008 Almerian melon season (late May early June)

Melon: market value and consumption data
- Total Melon Market £107million - static year on year.
- Almeria accounts for 9% of the year - up 14% year on year.
- 55% of UK households buy whole melon on average 5 times per year. This trend is decreasing slowly as consumers switch from whole to prepared melon/fruit salads.
- During the main 4 weeks of the Almerian season only 14% of households purchased melon. This represents a 9% drop year on year. However, consumers are buying slightly more frequently.

Galia melon: market value and consumption data
- Total Galia Market £30million - up 1% year on year.
- On the same 4 weeks around the Almerian season the market value was around £3m which was actually a 25% year on year increase. (It is worth noting that the 2007 season was a particularly poor season as well so on the 3 year picture the volumes were actually slightly down.) This increase was driven by sales in the top 3 retailers (Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury) plus stronger sales in the discounters such as Aldi and Lidl.
- 6% of households bought galia during the period, which was a 9% increase year on year.
- Sales were higher principally driven by aggressive volume based promotional strategies. These were aimed at giving the consumer value for money as the general perception was that higher retails could not be achieved due to the volume of smaller sized fruit.

Click on the following links for more information on Fresca Group and Mack Multiples.
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