Show some cupboard love for organic and natural essentials, says Matt Chittock
From organic tinned tomatoes to freshly baked gluten-free bread, store cupboard staples are the must-stock items that keep health-conscious customers coming back to your shop week in, week out.
“People buying these kinds of groceries make repeat purchases — often on a weekly basis,” explains Paul Moore from Community Foods. “So it’s important to offer a carefully selected range with the right point of difference.”
Choosing the right lines depends on the unique demands of your customers. But whatever you pick — Moore insists quality has to be at the fore.
“Not all tinned goods are the same,” he says. “For instance, we get really excited about how good our chickpeas are! They’re much bigger than the supermarket brands, and don’t taste bland and floury.”
Successfully communicating these points of difference means letting your passion for good food shine through, whether it’s by communicating the benefits on-shelf or in person.
“Retailers must have good product knowledge to advise on the unique selling points, nutritional benefits and usage of the products,” says Alice Waghorn, sales and marketing manager at Windmill Organics.
“In-store tastings and passive samplings are a great way to find new customers and encourage cross-purchasing. They can also create displays in store for a particular product or range with the help of POS material.
“For example, we supply leaflets on the Biona range that include recipe ideas combining a number of products that the retailer is likely to stock. Independents also have greater flexibility for offering impromptu offers and price promotions on products.”
Going coconuts
Successful independents know that it pays to stay abreast of current trends when ordering staple stock. And at the moment endorsements from sources as diverse as Jennifer Aniston and the England rugby team mean that offering coconut-based products could be a good move.
“Biona Organic Coconut Milk is our top seller, and very popular for Asian Cuisine,” says Waghorn. “A very close second place in our coconut range would be the coconut oil which is becoming a general house- hold must-have that’s used in cooking and as a health and beauty product.”
A new contender for coconut market share is Royal Green’s 100% organic coconut cooking creams. The three variants, infused with either garlic, cream, Herbes de Provence or spices offer a healthy proposition that doesn’t feature the taste or odour of coconut.
“Coconut cooking oils like the Royal Green range are great for cholesterol, they’re trans-fat free, lower in calories than most other oils,” says Nigel Barton, at the brand’s UK distributor.
Ready, steady, cook
Last year Mintel identified the cooking from scratch trend as a driver for staple ingredients like rice, cous cous and tinned food. It’s a trend we’re likely to see continue into 2012.
“In times of austerity people revert to basics, so we’re seeing an increase in the number of people cooking wholesome, value-for-money meals at home,” says Waghorn. “Cooking an organic meal from scratch is much cheaper than dining out and home entertaining is now more popular than ever. Our experience is that people tend not to compromise on quality and continue to buy organic staples from brands they know they can trust.”
From organic tinned tomatoes to freshly baked gluten-free bread, store cupboard staples are the must-stock items that keep health-conscious customers coming back to your shop week in, week out. “People buying these kinds of groceries make repeat purchases — often on a weekly basis,” explains Paul Moore from Community Foods. “So it’s important to offer a carefully selected range with the right point of difference.”Choosing the right lines depends on the unique demands of your customers. But whatever you pick — Moore insists quality has to be at the fore.“Not all tinned goods are the same,” he says. “For instance, we get really excited about how good our chickpeas are! They’re much bigger than the supermarket brands, and don’t taste bland and floury.”Successfully communicating these points of difference means letting your passion for good food shine through, whether it’s by communicating the benefits on-shelf or in person.“Retailers must have good product knowledge to advise on the unique selling points, nutritional benefits and usage of the products,” says Alice Waghorn, sales and marketing manager at Windmill Organics.“In-store tastings and passive samplings are a great way to find new customers and encourage cross-purchasing. They can also create displays in store for a particular product or range with the help of POS material.“For example, we supply leaflets on the Biona range that include recipe ideas combining a number of products that the retailer is likely to stock. Independents also have greater flexibility for offering impromptu offers and price promotions on products.”
“A real change in the market over the last 40 years has been the rise of convenience organic and free-from foods. These days you find there’s loads of really convenient everyday products — like gluten-free spaghetti in a tin”
The Honey Trap
Much like healthy cooking oils, honey now ticks the boxes for consumers seeking health benefits alongside foodie indulgence. However, some retailers find that securing a regular supply of high quality honey can be hard.
“The main problems around high quality non-blended honey are traceability, year round supply, reliable distribution and organic certification,” explains Shamus Oglivy, md of Oglivy’s Honey.
To solve this issue, and bring brand new tastes to market, Oglivy’s has launched a new range of seven honeys sourced from around the world. They include a dark honey from New Zealand designed to rival Manuka — plus a forest honey found in the Himalayas.
“We have direct, established relationships with bee-keepers,” he continues. “We have proven distribution set up, and Soil Association approval for our organic honeys.”
Product Listings
Biona Organic Rye Breads
Biona
Tel: 0208 547 2775 Fax: 0208 546 9942
E-mail: [email protected]
www.biona.co.uk
Biona Organic Rye Breads are traditionally made in Germany by organic bakers. Crammed full of crunchy, nutty wholegrains they offer a fibre-rich addition to your diet – essential for a healthy digestive system.
Choose from a light soft textured plain rye bread to the dark traditional pumpernickel, or enjoy rye breads enhanced with tempting nutritious seeds and cereals such as Omega 3 Golden Linseed; Sunflower, Pumpkin and Hemp Seed varieties; or Amaranth & Quinoa – ancient grains of the Aztecs and Incas.
As wheat free breads with no added yeast, Biona Organic award-winning rye bread is much less likely to provoke food intolerance symptoms such as abdominal bloating and fatigue.
Amy’s Kitchen Soup Range
Damien Threadgold, UK Sales Director.
Amy’s Kitchen UK, 3 Saxon Way East,
Oakley Hay Industrial Estate, Corby, Northamptonshire NN18 9EY
Tel: 01536 424820 Fax: 01536 744355
E-mail: [email protected]
www.amyskitchen.co.uk
Amy’s Kitchen was started when our daughter Amy was born in 1987. We are a family run business deeply committed to producing convenient, healthy prepared foods that taste homemade. Amy’s Kitchen soups like all our products are handmade using the finest natural ingredients, prepared with the same careful attention as you would in your own home.
The Amy’s Kitchen soup range includes six delicious varieties: Chunky Tomato, Lentil Vegetable, Split Pea, Lentil, Vegetable Barley and Cream of Mushroom. All our soups are vegetarian and cater for a variety of special diets including gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and vegan.
New pasta range
Organico Realfoods, 3 City Limits, Lower Earley, Reading RG6 4UP
Tel: 01189 238765 Fax: 01189 238761
E-mail: [email protected]
www.organico.co.uk / www.organiccollection.co.uk
With many apologies and a very belated rolling of drums, we are pleased to annouce our new pasta range – which consist of both premium and everyday shapes. The premium shapes are ideal for the fine food sector with an elegant cardboard headed package and some fantastic foodie shapes that we see increasingly in the books of celebrity chefs: Strozzapreti, Orecchiette, Gigli, Tagliatelle and large tubes known as Paccheri ideal for stuffing and oven-baking. Our everyday range covers the three main pasta shapes in white and brown (spaghetti, fusilli and penne) as well as shells and a small spiral shape. Both are of the highest possible quality – sourced from locally grown organic wheat varieties in a latitute that is well known for producing the best possible durum wheat, the hard wheat used in couscous and pasta that flourishes with long hot and dry summers. Both use local spring water are grown, milled and packed on site and use extra slow drying and bronze plates for shaping the dough into pasta. The best pasta means using the best practises.
Olive Oil
Organico Realfoods, 3 City Limits,
Lower Earley, Reading RG6 4UP
Tel: 01189 238765 Fax: 01189 238761
E-mail: [email protected]
www.organico.co.uk / www.organiccollection.co.uk
One of the best olives oil on the market at a recession-busting price. Organico olive oil is a first cold pressed extra virgin oil made from three Spanish varieties of olives – Verdial, Hojiblanca and Manzanilla. The oil is packed in tall elegant and dark bottles, a 50cl glass and 1L light fully recyclable PET bottle that is ideal for the kitchen and shopping bag. The olives are grown and harvested naturally and according to organic farming principles. After harvest, they are washed, stoned, pressed slowly at low temperature and then filtered naturally to ensure the oil keeps its goodness and taste. This oil has a fresh crisp taste with peppery after-notes, it is not too green, sharp or fruity and therefore excellent for general and everyday use. A kitchen essential that helps you match supermarkets for price, quality … and style
fresh basil and almond pesto
OPollen True Taste
Tel: 07831193199 Fax: 01428608890
E-mail:[email protected]
www.pollentruetaste.com
At Pollen True Taste we believe that pre-prepared products should be just as delicious, fresh and healthy as if you’d made them yourself. That’s why we produce a range of quality pestos, mayonnaises, dressings and other products that people can trust to prepare easy, healthy, mouth-watering meals.
It’s also why, despite our business growing from small beginnings to national outlets and overseas, we still personally monitor and sample each batch to make sure every jar, bottle and tub has the genuine ‘true taste’. We hope you love the Pollen taste as much as we do.
W & H Marriage & Sons Flour: for naturally better home baking
W & H Marriage & Sons Ltd.
T: 01245 35 44 55 • E: [email protected]
W: www.flour.co.uk
The Marriage family have been flour millers in Essex since 1824. Still a fifth and sixth generation family run company, W & H Marriage & Sons produce an award-winning range of premium quality bread, cake, pastry and pizza flours for home bakers. Marriage’s source as much wheat as possible from local Essex farmers, including the family’s own farms near to Chelmer Mills. Marriage’s organic flours are Organic Food Federation certified and all of Marriage’s strong flours are suitable for both bread machines and hand baking.
All thirteen Marriage’s home baking flours received prestigious 2011 Great Taste Awards and Marriage’s was nominated for the Guild of Fine Food’s ‘Best Speciality Producer of the Year Award 2011’. Marriage’s Organic Strong Stoneground Wholemeal Flour also received a ‘Commended’ award at the Soil Association Organic Food Awards 2011.
Marriage’s popular stoneground wholemeal bread making flours are still produced in the traditional way; by grinding wheat on hundred year old horizontal French Burr stones. Nothing is added or removed during milling, for a ‘nutty’ flavoured flour with all the goodness of the whole grain, ideal for making wholesome rolls and bread.
Fancy making healthier cakes, pastry and biscuits? Marriage’s nutritious organic light brown flours have a subtle taste and are extremely versatile. Organic Light Brown Plain flour can be used for crumbles, pastry, batters and biscuits. Organic Light Brown Self Raising flour is perfect for scones, sponges and cakes, and delicious, textured pancakes. These special flours retain the flavour of wholemeal but are as easy to use as white flour.
As well as attractively packaged 1.5kg bags for home bakers, Marriage’s flour is also available in 16kg sacks.
