Never before have consumers been so conscious of the impact of diet on their health and so exposed to information extolling the virtues of following a balanced and healthy lifestyle(1). Watching the calories and looking after yourself, however, shouldn’t be a bind and foodservice operators are starting to realise how important serving up nutritious food that also tempts the tastebuds really is. P&O Ferries has been working hard to get the balance right and with a few great partners onboard, is sailing into summer with a wave of new, locally sourced salads...
A greener steer
P&O Ferries may be in the transport business but clocking up a colossal number of miles taking food and drink to its ships sailing from Dover, Portsmouth, Liverpool, Hull, Teesport, Cairnryan and Troon is a definite no-no.
In fact, for the past few years, P&O Ferries has been on a constant mission to sign up British producers, reducing the impact of transporting the thousands of tonnes of food and drink it requires each year. To keep the food miles down even further, P&O Ferries also uses its own central distribution warehouse for its ferry ports.
The result is an ever increasing choice of British produce on board, from fruit and veg’ to meat, eggs, pies, pasties, crisps, ice cream, beer and cider. Verification is an important factor and P&O Ferries is a close ally of associations such as The Great English Apple Campaign and British Potato Council, while the English Beef and Lamb Executive also ensures that beef and lamb sold by P&O Ferries can be traced to top home producers.
Category manager for food David Stearne said that their commitment to Best of British or ‘BOB’ went even further. “We aim to source as close to our routes as possible,” he said. “In Kent, for example, P&O takes tonnes of fresh vegetables every week from grower C J Bean & Sons, based at Links Farm, Worth, just ten miles from the Dover fleet.”
It is thriving relationships such as this one that last year gave P&O Ferries the impression it might be missing a trick. With noises from the health lobby growing ever louder, there was a definite opportunity for P&O Ferries to expand on its healthy offering by combining the glorious, fresh array of produce on its doorstep with brands and products customers knew and loved.
Salad days rock the boat
In May, P&O Ferries proudly presented its new range of pre-prepared, fresh salads, offered alongside glorious Cornish clotted cream ice cream, to its Foodcourt passengers, commercial freight travellers, officers and crew. Staff at head office also get a bite of the cherry.
The 10-strong range comprises three summer salads, three winter salads and four all year round options, packed with delicious veg from growers including C J Bean & Sons. The mayonnaise-based salads, traditional coleslaw, potato and chive and red pesto, are all made with creamy Heinz Light Mayonnaise, which has half the fat of the standard variety and less salt and fat than the leading branded competitor’s version.
The reduced-fat/calorie dressing market is, after all, growing by a massive 31% and forecast to reach £678m by 2010(2), while mayonnaise overall has seen a market growth of 3.6% and volume growth of 5.5% in the past year(3).
It’s the perfect combination. The veg arrives at A C Wellard & Partners Ltd, less than a minute away from P&O Ferries, where it is portioned and mixed with Heinz Light Mayonnaise from the 5ltr back of house pail. Up to 800 salads have been delivered daily since they were launched a month ago. But what planted the seed for this new healthy option?
“At the time, we were getting salads that were pre-made and over which we had little control. Which made us think, we have our fruit and veg supplier on our doorstep, why not get them to create pre-prepared salads using Heinz, which everyone knows is a quality product? We buy the 5ltr tubs for them and they come up with the recipes. It’s good value, with the brand endorsement that Heinz brings, which is what our customers want. Especially during the uncertainty of a recession, where trust is key.”
To help promote the salads on behalf of P&O, Heinz Foodservice has also drawn up and supplied the ships with branded salad posters, an eye catching, lucrative piece of point of sale.
Claire Kemp, brand manager for Heinz Foodservice, said: “Light mayonnaise ‘the healthier version’ is driving the market and Heinz Light Mayonnaise is the perfect addition to the Heinz Foodservice range, satisfying consumers’ desire for branded condiments and sauces that offer consistent quality and purchase reassurance.”
Heinz Light Mayonnaise, also available in 12g sachets (200 per case), joins Heinz Light French Dressing and Heinz Light Salad Cream as the third reduced-fat sachet in the range synonymous with quality and cost effectiveness. To find out more call the free Customer Careline on 0800 575755.
References
1. Mintel – Dieting UK – February 2008
2. Mintel – Sandwiches - October 2007
3. AC Nielsen DW data, 52wk to March 08