Henderson Invests in Produce Category to Create New Fresh Brand
Northern Ireland’s Henderson Wholesale has invested over £100,000 in its fresh produce category, working with 19 local suppliers to create a new brand, The Greengrocer’s.
In September 2018, Henderson Wholesale embarked on a full analysis, review and refresh of their produce offering, looking at every aspect of the business from the suppliers, products and branding through to in-store execution.
The result was the new brand, The Greengrocer’s. Comprising of over 110 products, most of which have been newly developed in Northern Ireland, the range is available in-store now. A wider range of convenience products like prepared sliced and diced vegetables, packaged leaves and salads join a new range of stir fry or microwavable packs which include a crunchy kale mix with tender stem broccoli; rice and quinoa mix; aromatic greens and rice and lentil mix.
Neal Kelly, Henderson Group Fresh Foods director, says the range is central to the Group’s ‘Famous for Fresh’ strategy. “In 2018 we received over 13,000,000 cases into the fresh warehouse, in 2019 we expect over 14,000,000. After a review of our produce offering in 2018, we decided to create a new brand that would represent the collaborative relationships we have with our suppliers and customers.”
The Greengrocer’s range is packed with quality products that have been chosen for their innovation, taste and freshness to help retailers’ sales growth in this category.
One of the key criteria in the development of The Greengrocer’s was the advancement of sustainable, recyclable and compostable packaging for the range.
Neal continues; “We have launched The Greengrocer’s range with 40 loose and naked lines and we have eliminated unrecyclable black plastic on more than 30 lines within the range. In three of our EUROSPAR stores we are trialling the use of compostable bags for loose produce with the plan to roll these out across the wider estate over time.”
The range will continue to communicate Henderson’s fresh message that over 75 percent of their fresh food is sourced locally and will be supported by in-store POS communications and supplier information shelf cards, as well as a full outdoor campaign.
SPAR and EUROSPAR Ambassadors will hold special sampling in stores throughout Northern Ireland and promotional pricing will apply throughout the summer months.
Henderson Group is a local family business achieving 87th place on the latest 2018 Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 100 league table of the UK’s private companies. The Group owns the SPAR, EUROSPAR, VIVO, VIVOXTRA and VIVO Essentials franchises in Northern Ireland.The Group is committed to sourcing local fresh foods from farmers, growers and suppliers, with over 75 percent of fresh products sourced on the island of Ireland.
