Lincolnshire Herbs Ltd:
UK: Sunshine brings increased demand for herbs
Herbs naturally grow slower in the winter months even with additional lighting and heating, Cushen says last year they were still lighting in June.
Demand is also picking up due to the change in weather, people tend to start buying again when the sun comes out, according to Cushen the peak in the season is Christmas, but sales increase through the year to the summer period then drop off from September until Christmas. She explains that it is similar with cut herbs where sales usually rocket after Easter through the summer.
Lincolnshire Herbs recently expanded into cut herbs, giving a total solution for all herb requirements. They currently supply the Co-operative with their full range and Morrisons with cut and bunched basil.
The company produces 14 million pot herbs a year supplying Morrisons, Asda, The Co-operative and Ocado and a thriving local business portfolio. With a full range of living herbs including Basil, Coriander, Flat Leaf Parsley, Curly Parsley, Chives, Mint, Thyme, Dill, Sage, Rosemary, Tarragon, Greek Basil, Thai Basil, Sorrel, Lemon Balm, Watercress, Rocket and other speciality seasonal lines, the list is endless.
The most popular varieties on the UK market are Basil, Coriander and Flat leaf Parsley.
Lincolnshire Herbs are part of the Swedeponic group which has sites in Sweden, Portugal, Poland and most recently the Czech Republic which opened in 2012.
They were established in 1998 with a 12,000m² glass house and by 2007 that had doubled in size to 24,000m².
"Never one to stand still, in 2011 we expanded considerably again with a £3.4m investment incorporating a purpose built pack house and specially designed coriander glass house, taking us up to 32,000m²," explains Cushen.
Lincolnshire Herbs has a unique growing system using gutters. This maximises capacity allowing the herbs to grow more evenly and to be spaced at the correct time in their life cycle. To top this, lighting, irrigation, ventilation and screening are all fully computer controlled by Priva.
For the cut herbs a flow wrap machine is used so the length and width of the film can be varied to suit the herb, and tailor made SRP sizes to fit the herb rather than one size fits all. This flexibility further reduces packaging and waste.
According to Cushen, sustainability and innovation are a way of life for the group, in fact Swedish sites run on air to air heat pumps to keep cost low.
"We harvest our rainwater for irrigation and 90% of our waste is recycled. We are constantly looking for ways to reduce packaging in all areas of our business. Exciting times lie ahead and this year we have some big sustainability projects so watch this space!"
For more information:
Mel Cushen
Lincolnshire Herbs Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 1778 391960
Mob: +44 (0) 7850 739235
Email: [email protected]
www.lincolnshire-herbs.co.uk