Yvonne Tweddle
Senior Manager
Jupiter Marketing
Shropshire, UK
Q: Jupiter Marketing claims to have a unique business model within the fresh produce import trade in the UK. Can you explain how the company operates, how your customer base is divided and what makes you different?
A: The company began in 2003 and we are extremely efficient in terms of how we’re set up. Whereas a lot of importers tend to focus on just the wholesale market, or the retail sector or the foodservice industry, we supply all areas of the UK market because all those sectors are equally important to us. Fruit isn’t a uniform product so the different requirements of each area of the market quite often cover all of the ways that fruit can come into us. Fruit can set off in perfect condition from the grower but encounter problems during shipping. Obviously you can’t send the container back to the source but you have to send the fruit somewhere. Our growers work hard to get fruit to us in a format that’s ready for sale, so it’s our job to do the best we can for them at our end of the supply chain. Unfortunately, we’re a wasteful nation in lots of respects so the last thing that Jupiter Marketing wants to do is add to that.
Q: What do you feel Jupiter Marketing represents as a business?
A: We represent a strong supply base. We are importer-distributors but we are only as good as our supply base so we work hard on the relationships that we have with our suppliers.
Q: Which are your main products and sources?
A: Predominantly we supply table grapes but we also offer topfruit, citrus and stonefruit. We source from across the world so we don’t have a specific area that is stronger than others. We’ve formed a very strong supply base around the world because I think that we can demonstrate to growers that we can do a good job for them.
Q: Why is Jupiter Marketing exhibiting at the London Produce Show and Conference?
A: It’s the first fresh produce show in the UK and we’re really proud to support an industry that we believe has a lot of potential. It will also give us the opportunity to showcase our skills within the industry.
Q: So, what potential do you see for the UK fresh produce trade?
A: There are opportunities from the perspective of the number of up-and-coming people who are involved in the business. The world is also a much smaller place than it used to be. So the combination of those two realities means there’s more accessibility for the UK to be part of a bigger worldwide industry than it is at the moment.
Q: Do you see specific possibilities for certain products or sectors within the UK industry?
A: Consumers are being exposed to lots of different types of products and trends are changing all of the time. We go through periods when people want pre-packed food for example and then we go back to people wanting to see loose products. It’s not necessarily that there’s lots of new potential, rather there are lots of exciting ways to still put the products across to the consumer, and therefore lots of opportunities.
Q: Are you seeing any opportunities in the UK foodservice sector?
A: Yes, we’re still a nation that eats out. Regardless of which socio-economic group you belong to a proportion of your income goes on eating out. Obviously the foodservice sector is incredibly important because it’s part of UK lifestyle and we want to make sure that fruits and vegetables are part of that.
Q: What is Jupiter Marketing doing to keep pace with changing market trends in the UK?
A: We’re doing a few things. We’ve got a box brand for the wholesale market called Leda Elite through which we support our best growers. It’s really about putting together a very high end product for businesses that have a clientele that demands better quality. To achieve that we only supply the brand through a panel of well-respected businesses at wholesale markets throughout the UK with whom we’ve worked with over a number of years. They have a good clientele of customers and we work closely with them in terms of what products we decide to bring through. If we don’t deem the product to be good enough when it arrives in the UK we don’t send it to our panel of wholesalers. It’s our job to make sure that our growers are doing the right job by packing the right fruit, etc.
Q: What are you trying to achieve with the Leda Elite brand?
A: To support the wholesale market sector in the UK. Wholesalers are important to our industry so they shouldn’t be overlooked. They enable us to access smaller businesses, such as high-end catering outlets, who might not be able to take volume from us in a format that they can use, while, for us, it wouldn’t be cost-effective for us to deliver to them directly. The idea with Leda Elite is to support our panel of wholesalers selling the brand and to help them do a better job so that they have longevity in terms of brands coming through the wholesale sector. Wholesalers are closer to the end consumer than we are so obviously they are more knowledgeable in terms of what the consumer wants. From our panel we receive feedback not only in terms of market prices but also customer feedback about the quality and the format of products. So if there are any specific issues we can immediately work on that with our supply base.
Q: How important are brands to Jupiter Marketing? What do they represent for you?
A: Well Jupiter Marketing is a brand so of course brands are important. We set credentials and we want to live and work by them. We’ve got to be able to give suppliers the option of trying to make more money so by creating a brand like Leda Elite we’re giving an opportunity to the entire supply chain. We’re giving the grower an opportunity to have a different outlet for their best quality produce and the opportunity to make more money from that. We’re also giving the panel of wholesalers that we work with an opportunity as well. Ultimately, we’re trying to put some value back into all of our hard word.
Q: How can suppliers go about marketing their produce under your Leda Elite brand? What are the required standards?
A: Suppliers have to demonstrate that they can pack consistently to a specification. They have to have all of the correct production credentials and adhere to our technical mandate in terms of what we require standard-wise. They must also be able to consistently reproduce the same product. Together we decide what proportion of their volume we will sell as Leda Elite. We also stay in contact as the season approaches and throughout the season because obviously fresh produce is affected by the weather and all sorts of other factors so it may well turn out that the grower isn’t in a position to pack Leda Elite-quality produce. That’s why we’re very careful about what we sell under the brand.
Q: Roughly what percentage of your total volume is sold under Leda Elite? Is it a niche brand?
A: It’s niche at the moment but our vision is that it will become a solid part of our business in the future. We’re reinvesting in the brand to make sure that it’s marketed well and that our panel of wholesale suppliers have the right tools to market products under the brand. From the perspective of the brand we’re also pushing it through our foodservice team so that they can get the brand out in that sector and also point them in the direction of our wholesale partners. It’s really about brand investment – that is the role we’re playing in the industry.
Q: Are there many brands at a wholesale market level in the UK, or is Leda Elite fairly unique?
A: There are quite a few brands out there but it comes down to how firm you are with the distribution of that brand. It’s quite easy to offer the same brand to three wholesalers at the same market but then the brand is effectively competing against itself. That’s why we’ve only selected one wholesaler at each market to sell the brand.
Q: How do you choose which wholesaler will sell your Leda Elite brand at each market?
A: Again it comes down to relationships and trust. Our panelists are people that we’ve worked with over a number of years. They are people that we trust will protect the brand and ensure that it’s working and making money. It also comes down to their location since we want to make sure that the brand has a presence in each of the major wholesale markets across the UK.
Q: Does Jupiter Marketing have any other brands, or are you planning to introduce any new brands?
A: Elara Gold is another box brand that we use occasionally but it’s not a brand that we’re focusing on heavily. Jupiter Marketing is only 10 years old so we’re concentrating on Leda Elite for now but of course you can never say never to launching further brands.
Q: Strong grower relationships are clearly significant for Jupiter Marketing. Why are they so important to you?
A: We speak to most of our growers every day if not twice a day during their seasons. It has to be a two-way street in terms of having trust both ways. It’s important that we work hard to make sure that they understand what we’re doing with their fruit.
Q: Do you believe that closer relationships with growers is something that all importers should strive for?
A: Not at all. I think it’s just down to the individual style and personality of the importing company. Ultimately, there are many different business cultures out there so there’s no wrong or right at all. It’s just what works for us as Jupiter Marketing.
Q: How important is it for your business to network at events like the London Produce Show and Conference?
A: We have a presence at Fruit Logistica in Berlin but that’s very focused on the supply side of the business, whereas the target audience of the London Produce Show is very different. The organizers have really targeted the end users of fresh produce rather than just the trade itself. It’s very important to be seen by people, especially since we’re still a relatively new company in the fresh produce world and therefore not everyone has heard of it. So it’s good to get ourselves out there and showcase some of the things that we can offer to the trade.
Q: What will Jupiter Marketing be showcasing at the event?
A: Well, we’re taking the Leda Elite brand and obviously we’ll distribute information about the company such as what we can offer in terms of our supply base, our credentials and the way we work. Little Devil – our strawberry and chocolate sauce snack pot – is coming as well to put the brand in front of chefs, foodservice outlets and retailers. But it’s much more of a consumer-ready product rather than being at an industry level.
Q: What do you hope to get out of participating?
A: For us we’d like to demonstrate to the rest of the world what we can offer and show our support for the first event of this kind in the UK, which is quite an achievement. We’re all working towards attracting the same type of customers so putting them all in one place is great for the end users of the product because it puts the choice on display. There are lots of good fresh produce businesses out there so from that respect it’s great that we have the opportunity to showcase our services. For Jupiter Marketing ultimately it’s about promoting our service and what our brand can offer.
Source: Perishable News
