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QV Foods / Fresh Approach - Supports 'Select Lincolnshire' at this years Restaurant Show, Earls Court, London, 12-14 October

The brand Select Lincolnshire is now in its fifth year and has become an established aid for food and drink companies from the Humber to the Wash. A development of the Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture – a partnership between the private and public sector – Select Lincolnshire is funded by Lincolnshire County Council and is now recognised as a sign of quality by producers. But as brand project manager Jill McCarthy explains, this is only the beginning and the next hurdle is bringing the message home to consumers.

A good deal of fresh produce businesses support the brand, not just through packaging, but through customer awareness and through logos on lorries and Select Lincolnshire sign boards in fields. This all helps to make my job a lot easier, but the businesses also get the benefit of access to additional PR, as well as the option to showcase and promote their product at exhibitions and events.

In the fresh produce industry, it is all about finding new ways of adding value to products. There appears to be a trend towards diversifying away from traditional products and routes to market, and we are helping companies move to meet the ever-changing appetites of consumers.

Lincolnshire Inspiration

QV Foods’ Inspire range is going from strength to strength. With consumer demand up for ranges such as Inspire potato wedges with olive oil and herbs, the range has now expanded to offering prepared vegetable lines.

“Dishes like the potato wedges are popular with consumers who used to buy microwave meals,” explains QV sales and marketing director Simon Martin. “Consumers are becoming more interested in where their food comes from and want to cook from scratch, but some just don’t have the time. This is the next step up as it takes a little preparation, it’s simple to cook and the end result is impressive because it is using a fresh ingredient.”

QV Foods has gone through quite a transformation over the last three years, when the enterprise welcomed a new management team, along with a different outlook. With a 6,500-acre farm and preparation facility right in the middle of Lincolnshire’s horticultural hub, Spalding, it was time the company took the reins.

“QV Foods is a well-invested, very ethical, true family business,” ensures Martin, who joined the company three years ago. “The Worth family has been quietly running a hugely successful business for generations, but never shouted about it.”

As part of the Worth Group, QV Foods supplies major multiples and retailers, as well as foodservice companies with prepared potatoes from Worth Farms.

Furthermore, in 2008, produce company Fresh Approach – of which Martin is also a director – was set up to market the products outside the potato sector. All brassicas, legumes and alliums grown on the farm are covered by this enterprise, which includes a multi-million pound fruit juice business.

Martin maintains that the aim is to keep the Worth Group one step ahead of its competitors. “QV Foods now has growing and packing sites throughout the UK, from Dundee to Bedford,” he says. “We believe in provenance and in the great food that comes out of Lincolnshire, but you cannot put all your eggs in one basket. You have got to have a continuous supply.

“In Lincolnshire, we have the most fertile soils in the country, however, and it is the place to be. It is our focus and will always be. We are aggressive about how we grow; we have long-term grower relationships in place, but we also grow the produce. We are very passionate about it. We have not shouted about it until now, but it is our time to shine.”

The Inspire range, endorsed by MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace, originally launched with eight lines, which are prepared and packed in the company’s facility in Spalding, which has an output of 500,000 packs a week. “With Inspire, we are happy to be radical and we are now looking for other products,” says Martin.

“It is important for us to not only sell the produce, but add something to the shopper’s basket. We want our products to make an impression and affect the customer.”

*source - 'The land of plenty' - FPJ's second regional report on Lincolnshire, Elizabeth O"Keefe.