UK’s leading potato supplier moves into sweet potatoes as partnership with Tesco expands
Greenvale AP has won the contract to supply Tesco with sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are to be sourced in the USA and shipped to Greenvale’s Flood’s Ferry site in Cambridgeshire, where they will be subjected to quality controls before packing.
Sweet potatoes are an entirely new area for Greenvale. "We’ve worked for over 30 years with Tesco, supplying a variety of British-grown potatoes," says Paul Coleman, technical director at Greenvale. "This contract is an opportunity to diversify our operation without compromising our commitment to British growers. It’s also both a reflection of the great business relationship we have with Tesco and a testament to the Flood’s Ferry team’s expertise in every aspect of handling and supplying fresh produce."
Greenvale is working closely with Ontario International, the growers’ group based near New York, USA. While Greenvale is managing the supply chain within the UK, Ontario International is responsible for it on the other side of the Atlantic. The sweet potatoes themselves are orange-fleshed varieties (Beauregard and Covington) and are sourced from growers in North Carolina, Louisiana and Mississippi.
"Sweet potatoes are highly nutritious vegetables and, despite their name, they need different handling techniques compared to the standard potato," says Paul Coleman. "We have invested over £120,000 in purpose-built machines that handle the vegetables very gently, allowing us to check them for defects, then weigh and package them, without causing any damage."
Greenvale is supplying a selection of both loose and pre-packed sweet potatoes to Tesco. They are in store now.
"We have a great partnership with Greenvale," confirms Tim Pratt, Tesco produce technical manager. "They know how to match their products and processes to Tesco’s requirements, for example in terms of packaging, quality controls and logistics."
For more information visit the Greenvale AP website at www.greenvale.co.uk
Editor’s notes
Greenvale AP is the UK’s leading supplier of fresh potatoes and was awarded the Queens Award for Innovation in 2006. Greenvale AP now supplies the UK’s premier retailers, caterers and processing outlets with quality potatoes, meeting the high standards demanded by the UK market.
Greenvale AP has developed sites in the major potato growing areas across the UK, resulting in three state of the art potato-packing operations situated in Shropshire, Berwickshire and Cambridgeshire. The company also has sales and marketing offices across the UK, including in Norfolk, Suffolk, Somerset, Hereford and Yorkshire. Greenvale AP’s Seed Potato operation is managed from a specialist office at Burrelton, near Perth in Scotland.
Vales Sovereign, a new potato variety from Greenvale AP, won ‘Variety of the Year’ in the Tesco Fresh Produce Category Awards, held on November 20th 2008 at Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. Announcing the award, Alex Dower, the Category Director for Tesco, commended both the sales performance and Greenvale’s work in escalating the availability of Vales Sovereign.