The dominance of the major food manufacturers is leading us all to a grey world of sameness. This is a world where the great traditions and skills of the artisan are being lost to large scale manufacturing techniques and where chemistry takes the place of freshness a world where the most we can expect is a slight twist on last season's new product launches and where more effort is put into the marketing campaign than the product itself.
When I rove around the aisles of the major retailers (as I do very frequently), the truly arresting items have, almost without exception, come from small manufacturers who really love their products.
Sadly, the opportunity for these creative offerings appears to be diminishing as the grocery sector continues to consolidate. In addition, the number of independent retailers seems to diminish year by year and the difficulties of gaining any kind of meaningful distribution in the independent sector remain dauntingly hard work.
In fairness, some of the major retailers have or are trying to adopt initiatives that offer support to small manufacturers and local producers, but the systems in place seem to favour only the high volume organisations.
The science that has become supply chain management militates against niche products in favour of baked beans and washing-up liquid. It is difficult to see how further consolidations will do anything but continue this process.
Equally, as responsible food manufacturers, we entirely support the need for audit and approval processes in the interests of food safety and hygiene, but even these protocols can become reasons for not extending the portfolio of specialist or niche producers.
The very processes of managing suppliers become strong arguments for rationalisation and, sadly, it is a natural result that the supply base gravitates to the major producers and away from the specialists. The outcome is a reduction in choice for the consumer and a moderating of organoleptic quality to a more cost driven proposition.
Don't get me wrong, here at Alatoni we believe that we have great relationships with the major retailers who represent the bulk of our business and we enjoy working with them and fervently hope that they all continue to prosper. It's just that we are nervous that we will find it more and more difficult to gain listings for our specialist products as time unfolds.
Value for money
We are not seeking an easy life. We know that we have no right to any business and that our future success is wholly dependent upon our product offering in terms of its quality, our innovative abilities and our value for money in the eyes of the consumer.
Since its foundation in 1995 Alatoni has focused on producing chilled freshly marinated olives for delicatessen counters and olive bars in bulk packs or, in pre-packs, for the chilled salad and sandwich areas. Our products look great, taste exceptional and enjoy a tremendously strong consumer acceptance. Our team has accumulated huge technical experience and has an absolute passion for new product development.
As a result, we have a large bank of exciting new products that consumers would love to see available especially in the major retailers.
However, chilled freshly marinated olives tend to be quite low down on busy agendas and we do have to shout loudly to gain attention.
With more consolidations in the grocery sector I guess we will just have to invest in a few megaphones.
{{COMMENT - GUEST }}
When I rove around the aisles of the major retailers (as I do very frequently), the truly arresting items have, almost without exception, come from small manufacturers who really love their products.
Sadly, the opportunity for these creative offerings appears to be diminishing as the grocery sector continues to consolidate. In addition, the number of independent retailers seems to diminish year by year and the difficulties of gaining any kind of meaningful distribution in the independent sector remain dauntingly hard work.
In fairness, some of the major retailers have or are trying to adopt initiatives that offer support to small manufacturers and local producers, but the systems in place seem to favour only the high volume organisations.
The science that has become supply chain management militates against niche products in favour of baked beans and washing-up liquid. It is difficult to see how further consolidations will do anything but continue this process.
Equally, as responsible food manufacturers, we entirely support the need for audit and approval processes in the interests of food safety and hygiene, but even these protocols can become reasons for not extending the portfolio of specialist or niche producers.
The very processes of managing suppliers become strong arguments for rationalisation and, sadly, it is a natural result that the supply base gravitates to the major producers and away from the specialists. The outcome is a reduction in choice for the consumer and a moderating of organoleptic quality to a more cost driven proposition.
Don't get me wrong, here at Alatoni we believe that we have great relationships with the major retailers who represent the bulk of our business and we enjoy working with them and fervently hope that they all continue to prosper. It's just that we are nervous that we will find it more and more difficult to gain listings for our specialist products as time unfolds.
Value for money
We are not seeking an easy life. We know that we have no right to any business and that our future success is wholly dependent upon our product offering in terms of its quality, our innovative abilities and our value for money in the eyes of the consumer.
Since its foundation in 1995 Alatoni has focused on producing chilled freshly marinated olives for delicatessen counters and olive bars in bulk packs or, in pre-packs, for the chilled salad and sandwich areas. Our products look great, taste exceptional and enjoy a tremendously strong consumer acceptance. Our team has accumulated huge technical experience and has an absolute passion for new product development.
As a result, we have a large bank of exciting new products that consumers would love to see available especially in the major retailers.
However, chilled freshly marinated olives tend to be quite low down on busy agendas and we do have to shout loudly to gain attention.
With more consolidations in the grocery sector I guess we will just have to invest in a few megaphones.
{{COMMENT - GUEST }}
No comments yet