INTERVIEW WITH JUAN MIGUEL FLORISTÁN, DIRECTOR OF VEGA MAYOR - FLORETTE IN SPAIN AND PRESIDENT OF AFHORLA

Fruit Attraction is an ideal opportunity to strengthen the company image, that of our FLORETTE brand and also that of our products. It also provides us with the perfect setting to network with the whole sector, from suppliers to the mass distribution and hotel and catering sectors.

1. Vega Mayor began operating 1989 and was practically the first company to produce IV Range products in Spain, the sector that mixes together fresh fruit and vegetables which are washed, chopped, packaged  and ready to consume. How do you view the evolution of this sector in our country?

Vega Mayor, in Spain, and Florette in France, began producing and commercialising the ready-to-eat range over 20 years ago with a variety of raw materials and offering a wide product range. It has a significant presence in the mass distribution chains and has gained immense popularity in household consumption compared to its entry onto the market in the early 1990s as a relatively unknown product. Nowadays bagged salads are commonplace in more than 75% of European households.

In Spain, which is slightly behind other European consumers, 50% of households buy ready-to-use products and this range has invigorated the Spanish preference for salads in general. In the 1990s when consumers ate salads in restaurants or at home, it was difficult to find any other ingredients apart from lettuce, tomato and onion, but nowadays the traditional salad has become a great variety of ingredients with different flavours, textures and a huge array of leaves and colours. This change would not have been possible without the evolution the IV Range has experienced in recent years and the uses offered by our products to both catering professionals and end consumers.       

2. Vega Mayor was acquired by Florette, the European leader in ready-to-use vegetables and salads in 2001. From the perspective of a multinational group, what do you consider are the main differences of the production/commercialisation and consumption in Spain compared to other EU countries?

The integration into the Florette Group has given us a much deeper insight into the ready-to-use evolution in other European countries, and at the same time an understanding of the different consumer tastes and uses. But this variety in tastes and uses does not imply that European consumer profiles differ in every country, normally in all markets we refer to the young sector as people who value their time, the quality and variety of their food and those for whom food safety is a fundamental element.

The ready-to-use range meets all these demands, therefore we are talking about a market created fundamentally for young people with huge growth potential and in which convenience and quality are prevalent when choosing food.

3. The growth of commercialisation and the variety of vegetables in the IV Range in Spain has seen a steady increase in recent years, why isn’t fruit experiencing the same trend?

I don’t believe the difficulties which IV Range fruit is facing to gain a footing on the shelves is any different to the beginnings of salads and vegetables and I could even say that we have advantages now which did not exist back then. The refrigeration conditions in logistic centres as well as on the shelves, the presence of ready-to-use products in the Fruit and Vegetable section and the habits of consumers demanding these products all expedite the display of these products.

Although simple display is not enough for a product to be chosen by the consumer who is increasingly more discerning and must be satisfied from the very first bite.

To date, the commercialisation phase of IV Range fruit in the Spanish market has not always met the minimum product quality demanded by the consumer and this quality will not be attained until specific aspects are overcome which are currently impeding their introduction. Taste is a fundamental aspect with fruit and the quality and degree of maturity of the raw material used, strict adherence to temperature throughout the logistics chain and expiry dates are all issues which are paramount to its success. We shouldn’t forget that those European countries where these products have been developed the most have an expiry date of between 5 and 6 days which prevent widespread distribution in our market.  

Therefore, once these difficulties have been overcome, my view is that sooner or later, (most probably later), we will see a higher presence of IV Range of fruit in Spanish supermarkets.
       
4. The growth of Vega Mayor and Florette in Spain has been constant, in line with the increase of the IV ready-to-use sector. You have two more production plants, apart from the first one in Milagro (Navarra). What are Florette’s short and medium-term concerns, perspectives and projects?

Florette as European ready-to-use leader has an optimistic outlook, in spite of the current recession. Our main concern is anticipating the demands of our consumers, regularly by asking them what they expect from the ready-to-use range today and in the future and it is their response that defines our business strategy.

Innovation becomes the central pillar to enable meeting these changing demands, we have to be capable of offering our consumers new concepts, new forms, new varieties and new presentations, with formats suiting the needs of each consumer, permitting us to extend the moment of consumption.

Innovation, control of raw material supply, the proximity of manufacturing centres to customer platforms and collaboration with the mass distribution channel, through the implementation of an integrated management system for this category, must be the mainstays of our business strategy over the forthcoming years.

We are also going to develop a closer collaboration with the Horeca cannel by introducing a specific range of products and services for this market segment.

5. As president of AFHORLA, what are the short and medium-term prospects for the ready-to-use range in Spain? What are the main goals?

AFHORLA right now integrates manufacturers representing 85% of the total ready-to-use production.

When we created AFHORLA there was no specific standard for these products and in 2006 the “Guide to Good Production Practices in the IV Range” was approved. Compliance with this guide is mandatory by all associates and it is reviewed annually by an independent body to certify that each and every production centre complies with the minimum requirements, from the supply of raw materials through to manufacture, distribution and commercialisation.

Today we are determined to introduce the Guide to other, non-associate manufacturers and the mass distribution channel with the aim of benefiting consumers with our experience and know-how, contributing to quality improvement and food safety in the entire ready-to-use range and to achieve this we are in talks with the Spanish Government and different European manufacturers’ association to improve sector-specific regulations.  

In terms of challenges, I would like to make further progress with a closer collaboration between the different market operators in which, with respect to the strategy of each one, work jointly towards a greater development of this market.   

6. With reference to FRUIT ATTRACTION, what are the principal motives that led Florette, one of the leading brands of ready-to-use fruit and vegetables of IV range exhibit at FRUIT ATTRACTION 2010?

For Florette, Fruit Attraction is an ideal opportunity to strengthen the company image, that of our FLORETTE brand and also that of our products. It also provides us with the perfect setting to network with the whole sector, from suppliers to the mass distribution and hotel and catering sectors. It also permits us to present our way of being both nationally and internationally and to understand the business, exchange points of view with many manufacturers, our European and Ibero-American counterparts, with whom we can discuss, face to face, the possibility of establishing agreements for the supply of raw materials as well as in innovation and development.    

7. Florette participates in many trade fairs as a national and international promotional tool. What do you believe differentiates FRUIT ATTRACTION from other sector events?

Fruit Attraction in its short life has become the most important Fruit and Vegetable trade show in Spain and provides us with the perfect opportunity to show the world the real Spanish agricultural and agri-food potential in this sector.

Fruit Attraction, as opposed to other trade events, offers specialisation and monographic sectors as attractions, presenting our sector just the way it is, with modesty, optimising the resources and with a professional approach aimed solely at doing business, allowing easy communication between actors and concentrating the national and international promotion of the whole Spanish fruit and vegetable sector into a single event.  


Madrid, 24 June 2010