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SPREADING GOOD NEWS

01 April 2008

There's a widespread pressure on the entire foodservice industry to be greener. This pressure comes in everything from sourcing more sustainable fish right through to the issue of giving away free plastic bags.

What's changed of late isn't just that the pressure is more wide-ranging but that it comes along with an accompanying requirement that food retailers are seen to be seen to be making an effort.

But it isn't all just bad news in terms of having to source - and display - more expensive ingredients, raw materials and packaging. Customers seem to appreciate the effort and feel more comfortable eating from a place that shows its environmental credentials.

Evidence of this isn't hard to come by in the frying trade. FRY Monthly columnist and former Young Fish Frier of the Year Lindsay Petrie says this of making a more visible effort on the green front at her shop, The Bay Fish & Chips at Stonehaven: "Customers these days do appreciate more what you do - not least because they themselves are doing much more at home like recycling.
"We were quite lucky with starting at this shop, it meant we had something of a blank canvass. We started with packaging, stopping to use polystyrene and bringing in more cardboard boxes and the like. Then we moved on to start much more recycling of everything used at the shop like tins and waste. And everything we use for cleaning at the hop is from the Ecover range that's been specially developed for caterers - this is an important one because of the possible impact on the sea of other types of cleaner."

It was one thing setting up all these eco-friendly procedures but Lindsay was also well aware that she needed to keep her clientele in the picture about how responsible their favourite chippy had become.
"We used leaflets and posters to help explain what we were doing and communicate with customers. Customers welcome things, they are interested to know what's going on at your shop, right down to things like the benefits of using high-efficiency ranges.
"Another thing we have to help spread our message is our Citroen van, which is more eco-friendly than most."

One area where environmental concerns are high right now is packaging. There have however been several recent product launches of particular help to the frying trade and each also presents an opportunity to communicate a positive and responsible message to customers.
Henry Colbeck is well to the fore here. Its new Fish & Chip boxes that are branded Heinz SqueezMe! don't just offer a sound piece of packaging that also does a top job in keeping your end product at its optimum quality - they're also recyclable too. This is something to remind any customer who expresses concerns, it's giving them extra confidence in their purchase.
And as part of the Q Partnership Henry Colbeck is also supplying the new Bio-Box packaging. This is made from waste from the sugar cane plant - a sustainable resource.

Bio-Box is also 100 percent biodegradable and decomposable. And gone are the days when an eco-version of anything meant responsibility at the expense of performance - for Bio-Box is highly efficient when it comes to heat retention and being free of leaks - so much that it can be used with the likes of gravy and curry sauce without problems.
Important to note here is that the
Q Partnership has also produced a poster to help you communicate the positive messages about Bio-Box to customers. And this is a timely move, according to Jackie Pearson at Henry Colbeck: "It is important to be able to let customers know the message, especially when so many people are looking for something that's different and when they're going off polystyrene right now, seeing it as the packaging of the past.
"Bio-Box is going very well. We've sold over a thousand cases very quickly and there's a lot of interest in the product."

Away from packaging the other big area of concern is transport. If your shop makes deliveries and/or uses a branded van for everyday commercial use then having a vehicle that's eco-friendly means the message that your business is kind to the environment is getting that much more exposure.
And recently there have been a few new product launches of note such as the new Mega City Enterprise van from the Nice Car Company (tel 0845 642 3227). This vehicle offers 800 litres of load space but says Nice "with no service charges or emissions it makes clear social sense for your business." The Mega City Enterprise is all electric with two seats, a 40 mph top speed and a typical range of up to 40 miles. Being zero-emissions it benefits from exemption from road tax and congestion charge and can park for free in a number of locations in City centres. The price comes in at £8,998.

Another option along the same lines is the new line of eco-friendly Italian made scooters from Oxygen (tel 0039 49 828311). Oxygen specialises in developing light electric vehicles, targeting the delivery market. The scooter's lightweight and functional design, combined with state-of-the-art battery technology, reduces energy costs, lowers maintenance expenses and is easily recharged and repaired. Journeys are silent and free of toxic emissions, providing a healthier working environment for the driver and - a visible proof of your business's commitment to sustainability.
Oxygen's flagship product is the all-electric CargoScooter, designed specifically for the delivery market and the first of its kind intended primarily for inner-city delivery use. This is used by companies across Europe and the USA and can be customized to suit particular company's needs, for instance there's a PizzaScooter and a FoodDeliveryScooter developed especially for fast food delivery services.

Oxygen says that by switching to electric scooters, businesses can considerably reduce energy costs, avoid the regulation and expense of polluting fossil fuel-burning vehicles, and improve their corporate reputation and environmental credentials. It adds that it can demonstrate possible savings for fleets of up to 90% on energy costs and 40% on maintenance expenses.