•
VEGETABLE TRENDS
•
THE
VEGETABLE
FARMER •
FEBRUARY 2017
“Food is about experience and
emotion,” said NatalieMitchell,
Waitrose’s Head of Brand
Development. “And in a connected
world, people want to share that.”
So how can vegetable
producers become part of this
‘connectedworld’? The old adage
of ‘if you can’t beat them, join
them’ is applicable andmore and
more businesses are realising that
they can connect to a new
audience by participating in the
world of social media.
Susan Zwinkels from Kitch
Media handles social media for
Barfoots, including their
Instagram account
@grownwithlove_, which has an
impressive 906 followers.
“We are able to capitalise on
food trends and hashtags to drive
brand awareness and
consumption of the vegetables
we produce, including specialist
products such as spiralised
courgetti and our newly launched
butternut squaffles,” she said.
“Consumers today like to know
where their food comes from.
There is a huge emphasis on
ensuring their food is ethically
produced and people are eating
more seasonal produce to
support British growers.
Instagram (in addition to other
social channels) helps us to share
our story and ethos with
consumers.”
For growers looking to
capitalise on this community, she
advised: “Imagery is key to
Instagram. Ensure you use a
variety of shots to entice new
followers, for example, photos of
dishes in addition to images from
the farm. Furthermore, ensure
there is consistency in the
regularity of posts and the brand
voice.”
New vegetable trends
Judging from the predictions
for the next 12months,
vegetables are set to take on a
bigger profile than ever before.
The rise in ‘Meat FreeMondays’
last year led toWhole Foods
predicting that ‘flexiterianism’ -
peoplemostly, but not
exclusively, embracing a
vegetarian diet - will become
more widespread in 2017.
Waitrose predicts that
vegetable-based trends that
have proved popular in the US
will make their way across the
Atlantic ocean - one such
example is vegetable yoghurt.
TheWaitress report explained:
“In the US, they’re infusing the
flavours of carrot, beetroot,
sweet potato and tomato into
yogurt for a savoury (with a hint
of sweet) accompaniment to all
sorts of food. It won’t be long
before we’re adding it to our
weekly shop…”
Waitrose clearly believes that a
lot more vegetable products will
bemaking their way into
consumers’ weekly shops over
the next 12months and has
thrown its weight behind this
predicted trend. For instance, for
the first time in its history,
Waitrose Foodmagazine has
dedicated an entire edition to
vegetarianism. The January
edition interviews “visionaries
whose innovative approaches to
meat-freemeals have put
vegetables centre stage” and
who better to advocate amore
inventive approach towards
vegetables than Sir Paul
McCartney, who is interviewed in
themagazine?
“Mary, Stella [Linda and Paul’s
daughters] and I heard Australia
and America were doing
Meatless Monday, andwe
wanted to do something similar
here – we called it Meat Free
Monday,” Sir Paul McCartney
said. “Being vegetarian is a big
step, so doing it for just one day
a week seemedmore doable.
The vegetarian revolution is a
slow burner and I like the idea
of not pushing people. In doing
so I find they do it for
themselves.”
So there you have it - if one of
Britain’s most-loved
supermarkets and a former
Beatle are predicting a
particularly veggie 2017, then
you know it must be true!
11
Cauliflower
-
Merton F1
•
Strong vigour, good heat tolerance
•
Well wrapped
•
Harvest mid-July tomid-October
®
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Cauliflower
-
Jericho F1
•
Harvest mid-June tomid-July
(fromOctober sowings)
Mid-September to lateOctober
(fromMay sowings)
•
Upright habit
•
Excellent cover &presentation
Caroline Holland started growing
purple asparagus in 2007.
