Shift to food experiences offers opportunities for Dutch bell peppers
During an inspiration meeting organized by Triple Group at Novifarm in Numansdorp, Rabobank sector specialist Patrick Zwaan spoke to a number of bell pepper growers about market developments and trends from the Glass Vegetables vision report that Rabobank published last year.
Patrick Zwaan
"The market is saturated in terms of volume. The consumer is not going to buy more, but differently. Convenience, health and enjoyment will play a bigger role, such as online shopping. Fresh produce is bought online more than non-produce products. The biggest shifts are taking place in food retail and food service – eating out more frequently and at more times during the day. There is a shift to wanting food experiences." As an example, Patrick mentions the La Place restaurants that appear along the road. The growth mainly takes place in food services. According to Patrick, all this offers opportunities for the producer. "Online is easier to control, for example, the cooling chain is not broken."
The demand for canned food and frozen food has gone down, while the demand for fresh and processed fruit and vegetables is increasing. The bell pepper is up by 13%. "One of the trends is that the consumer, especially the millennial, likes to buy healthy food, which is why you have a beautiful product with the bell pepper." “Yes,” a grower adds, “and if that trend is primarily for millennials, the potential is good."
"In terms of operational management, we see a dichotomy: on the one hand, large companies are increasingly collaborating and on the other hand there is also room for smaller family businesses to develop." According to Rabobank, there are three options to make the organization future-proof: the entrepreneurial collective of excellent production units, the leading horticulture corporation and the fabulous product specialist. Collaboration is the key word. Its purpose: the entrepreneur is less vulnerable, the organization is more adapted to the market, innovations can be applied faster, talent can be attracted and steps can be taken towards internationalization.
Competition was also discussed extensively. For bell peppers, the growth is in the organic sweet pointed peppers. This is mainly due to Spain. How did that happen? Are the Spaniards smarter than the Dutch growers? "Organic, although a small market, is growing, and the Spaniards are able to respond well, by approaching it as a collective", says a grower.