•CLEAN EATING•

www.hortnews.co.uk THE VEGETABLE FARMER • JULY 2016

CC onsumption of vegetableshas skyrocketed in thepast couple of years and

it’s all thanks to the clean-eatingtrend that has swept thecountry. If you’re not alreadyfeeling the benefit of thissudden surge in popularity, thenthe time is right to strike as thistrend doesn’t show signs ofabating any time soon.

After years of communicatingto the public the healthyproperties of vegetables, itappears that they’ve finally satup and taken notice. This is, inpart, thanks to a revolution thathas taken place concerning theform in which they’reconsumed.

Sales of juicers and smoothiemakers have soared asconsumers realised they couldcondense most of their five aday into one drink. Thecourgette has never been sopopular, as healthy eatersshunning carbohydrates havebegan spiralising them to createan alternative to spaghetti. Andparts of vegetables traditionallyconsidered waste are beingembraced for health propertiespreviously overlooked.

SpiralisingTesco were the first retailers to

seize upon the spiralisedvegetables trend. Prior to this,consumers were purchasing theirown spiralisers; Ocado reportsthat sales of these machines are

currently up a huge 232% in2016 compared to last year. Soit was only a matter of timebefore supermarkets recognisedthe opportunity and begandoing the hard work forconsumers.

Tesco launched courgette andcarrot spaghetti and beetroottagliatelle with fantastic results.Year on year data reveals thatcourgette and carrot spaghettivolumes have increased bynearly 100% and 80%respectively.

A Tesco spokeswoman said:“Creating vegetable substitutesfor carbs such as potatoes, riceand pasta is really growing inpopularity right now and notjust for the diet conscious. It’seasy if you’ve got a decent foodprocessor and spiraliser but noteverybody has, so we think theseready prepared fresh vegetablepacks provide shoppers with asimple option for lowering theircarb intake.”

Marks and Spencer have alsolaunched a range afterrecognising that this trendshows no signs of going away.Erica Molyneaux, M&S ProductDeveloper, said: “Over the pastyear the rise of spiralising hascaptured the nation, ascustomers take inspiration fromhealth conscious foodies such asHemsley & Hemsley, DeliciouslyElla and Natasha Corbett.Shoppers have been recreatingtheir low carb, fresh and healthy

recipes at home which hashelped the popularity of thetrend grow as it’s a quick andeasy way to enjoy deliciousfood.

“We’ve got three pre-sprialisedvegetables to choose from; aclassic courgette spaghetti, abutternut squash noodle and asweet potato tagliatelle. They’reproving extremely popular withour shoppers, allowing thosewithout a spiraliser the chanceto experiment with recipes andcreate new meal-timefavourites.”

But who is supplying thesupermarkets and takingadvantage of this new market?Barfoots spotted the gap in themarket and invested in newequipment after retailersidentified it as a trend andexpressed an interest in theHampshire-based producerdeveloping the lines. They nowsupply spiralised vegetables toboth M&S and Sainsburys and

have delivered over 800 tonnesso far this year.

Sophie Bambridge, BusinessDevelopment Manager atBarfoots, believes the increasingpopularity of clean eating hasgiven a boost to previouslyoverlooked British vegetables

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CLEAN-EATING REVOLUTION PROVIDESNEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWERSThe clean-eating revolution has created a multitude ofopportunities for growers. Emily Scaife explores theoptions.

Spiralised squash has proved immensely popular. Photo by Kate Martin(Courtesy Barfoots).

Spiralised courgette - the originalspiralised vegetable and still themost popular. Photo by Kate Martin(Courtesy Barfoots).

•CLEAN EATING•

THE VEGETABLE FARMER • JULY 2016 www.hortnews.co.uk

such as courgettes and squash.“It’s making people think abouthow to incorporate morevegetables into their diets andthose products are not onlyhighly nutritious but also veryversatile,” she said.

“It is a great opportunity forBritish producers as volume hasbeen in decline across a numberof categories and ifconsumption goes up it willenable growers to have moresales opportunities. Differentformats which help with croputilisation are also a benefit.”

Barfoots are understandablysecretive about the equipmentthey have invested in toproduce this range, as theycreated a solution themselves.But they agree that thisrepresents a huge opportunityfor fellow producers. “We’re ina fortunate set of categorieswhich are growing in popularityevery year so we are veryoptimistic,” Sophie said. “Wehave to keep working hard tostay ahead of the trends anddevelop things for ourcustomers as growers, but yes,the future is bright!

Cauliflower andbroccoli leaves

Spiralising is just the start –there are plenty of otheroptions for growers to consider.Tesco has recently launched arange of cauliflower andmushroom barbecue steaks,after recognising that thepopularity of the entirevegetarian food category hasrisen in the past year.

Tesco food developer AlisonStokes, who created the newrange, said: “Cauliflower steaks

and portobello mushroomburgers are already very popularin trendy restaurants aroundthe country and in recipes fromcelebrity chefs such as JamieOliver, but this is the first timethey’ve ever been available inhigh street supermarkets.”

Cauliflower continues tobenefit from the clean eatingtrend, which has seen it used asa pizza base or a low carbalternative to rice and couscousafter being blitzed in a foodprocessor.

Another recent addition toASDA shelves was broccolileaves - previously deemed awaste product. They have nowbeen recognised for their healthbenefits after an Americancompany launched a rangecalled Broccoleaf.

“For years, broccoli leaveshave been considered a crownjewel of soil nutrition for itsnutrients and cleansingproperties,” their websitestates. “It turns out that what’sgood for the earth is good forthe body as it’s also a magicaldelicious power food veggie.The BroccoLeaf promotesconsumption of the wholevegetable and reduces foodwaste while creating a newvegetable category.”

ASDA is the first to trialbroccoli leaves as a product intheir own right in the UK -fantastic news for growers, asonly the broccoli heads arecurrently being harvested,wasting 70% of the total plant.

Charlie Mills, Fresh ProduceManager at Asda, said: “We’recommitted to tackling foodwaste at Asda and areconstantly looking at ourproduce across the board to seewhere else we can make adifference. We review growingpractices and processes withour farmers to ensure they’repassing on their invaluableknowledge.

“When we discovered thedelicious taste of broccoli leaf,coupled with its outstandinghealth benefits, we knew it wasa clear winner to hit shelves.”

JuicingAnd then there is juicing,

another massive trend in itsown right. Again, seizing onthe opportunity for convenienceand to cater for those without aNutriBullet or the like, somefarmers are creating juices in-

house. Shropshire salad leaf,whole-head lettuce and spinachproducer Philip Maddocks hasseen particular success from hisB.Fresh juice range, which iscreated in a bespoke juicingfacility installed on site.

Consumers are warnedagainst filling smoothies withfruit, due to the sugar content,so vegetables come into theirown in this market. Philip wasthe first British grower to usethe cold pressed High PressureProcess, a non-thermal foodprocessing technology whichgives the juice a longer shelf-life.

“We want to encourageconsumers to enjoy on the gohealthy drinks and highlight thebenefits of cold pressed juices –placing it firmly back in theirminds as a healthier, higher-quality way to get one of yourfive-a-day,” said Philip. “TheB.Fresh story is simple and true:we farm great quality produceand source that same highstandard of produce we cannotgrow from other local farms.”

Juicing also provides theopportunity for growers tomake use of vegetables deemedimperfect. B. Fresh first cameabout after a freak hail stormbattered a crop of spinach,rendering it unsuitable forsupermarket shelves.

“As a farmer I am passionateabout British vegetables andfruit, including them in theirpurest form into your diet and

the importance of provenance,”Philip added. “B.Fresh juices aresimply the closest thing to araw juice with the advantage ofshelf life.”

The futureNever before have consumers

embraced vegetables with suchenthusiasm. A recent exampleof exactly how popular avegetable-based diet hasbecome was Pret a Mangeropening a Little Veggie Pretshop in Soho on 1 June. Thechain expected to see salesdrop by 30% – instead theywere staggered to see sales riseby 70% on last year.

CEO Clive Schlee said thatdespite initially only intendingto keep the shop open for fourweeks, they are now likely tokeep it open longer. “There aresome who would like to convertevery fourth Pret into a VeggiePret, and to explore its successin other markets too,” he said.

“Like all good ideas, Pret’sexclusively veggie shop seemedradical when we first thoughtof it, but has come to feel verynatural. Vegetarianism isbecoming much moremainstream and of course themore vegetarian food isavailable and the moreattractive the textures andflavours, the less of a sacrificeyou have to make.”

The market for vegetables hasnever been so popular,mainstream and positive. More

and more people areopting for vegetable-based dishes and thefact that they’re usingproducts that wouldotherwise have beendeemed unsuitable orwaste can only bepositive for the industryas a whole. The futureis green - and it’s timeto take advantage.

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Courgetti served with halloumi.Photo by Kate Martin (CourtesyBarfoots).

Just one of B. Fresh’s range of juices createdfrom British vegetables. (Courtesy B Fresh).

B. Fresh was created off the back of a freak hail storm which rendered aspinach crop unsuitable for supermarket shelves. (Courtesy B Fresh).