Fruit Today spoke with Alfonso Doménech, commercial director of Agromark.
For a company that has been very successfully focusing on fresh produce for several generations, when and why was the decision made to move into prepared products in the ready-cooked food market?
Indeed, we are a company linked to marketing fresh produce, and this activity means discarding many kilos of produce damaged by impacts or because it does not reach the calibres demanded by clients. Having said this, the quality is exactly the same as the produce marketed fresh, although it may not have the same shape or size.
The second reason is the social evolution itself and the new market trends. People have less and less time to eat; they cook less at home and eat more ready-cooked products.
How much time has been invested in this development, and what were the stages involved?
We have been immersed in the project for about 6 months. In the first stage, we had to find someone with experience in the food industry who could help us to launch it and a company to produce our products externally.
We can rely on the collaboration and great experience of Juan Michel Beranger, who is helping us with the project, and the completely trustworthy company Naturvega, which is preparing the products using our raw materials and recipes.
We are also collaborating with Nacho Domenech, a highly prestigious chef, who has worked alongside Albert Adria and until very recently he was a chef at Noma, the best restaurant in the world. Nacho has prepared the first few recipes and he has many more ideas that little by little we will start to prepare.
What is going to differentiate Agromark’s products from those already on the market?
The particularity of our products is that they are 100% natural, without any type of preservatives or additives, completely fresh. Accordingly, we can affirm that we are pioneers because at present there is nothing similar to the products we have developed.
Nutritionally speaking, they are very healthy and they have a high fibre content.
What target group will they be aimed at? Is the idea to ‘create a brand’ or, on the other hand, will it be MDD or both?
The target group will be people who want to look after themselves, eating healthily and trying new things. Our idea is to create a brand to position OH GREENS! with the greatest penetration possible, but each supermarket works differently and the demands are different.
Do you think it is the right time to present this type of product, due to the economic problems being experienced in Europe at present? Will it be a high-priced segment?
The current situation is critical and unstable, the rise in electricity and fuel prices along with the drought are causing insecurity when growing fresh produce. Compared to this, ready-cooked products guarantee more stability and the profit margins are higher.
And we believe that consumers, in spite of inflation, are always open to trying new, healthy products, although this might mean a slight effort.
Can you explain the characteristics of each of them in particular? Product percentages, shelf-life and conservation…
In this first phase we are launching three references. The first is a cream of broccoli in which we use all of it. This product only includes broccoli, water, salt and virgin olive oil. That is to say, it is a 100% natural food, without any type of preservative or additive. It is marketed in a 400 gram polypropylene format, and the container is recyclable.
The second product is broccoli hummus, made using 35% chickpeas and all the ingredients included in a hummus and, to finish it off, we add lightly blanched broccoli that brings freshness and chlorophyll. It is presented in recyclable polypropylene tubs of 150 grams.
The last, most complicated product to develop is a broccoli guacamole, which, as its name implies, has a percentage of avocado and broccoli sprouts, lemon juice, a touch of chilli… The container weighs 150 grams and it is made of polypropylene, which is obviously always recyclable.
All our products are prepared to be able to be kept easily, between 0º and 4º C, with a shelf-life of between 50 and 60 days.
We have many more projects in the pipeline that will appear over the next few months by the hand of Chef Nacho Domenech, all of them in the same line of healthy, sustainable products.
