At Grupo IFA, fresh products are one of the key strengths of our commercial offering. Our fresh-food strategy gives a prominent role to the fruit and vegetable sector, as sales of fruit and vegetables account for between 35% and 40% of total sales of perishable products. This offering, which allows us to adapt to the specific characteristics of each region, has become a distinctive tool for attracting and retaining customers.
For us, proximity is key to our continued commitment to fresh food. To this end, our members work directly with local suppliers, ensuring the supply of locally produced goods through long-term relationships with local producers, to whom they offer visibility in terms of volumes and prices. This model enables each of our members to adapt their commercial offering to consumer preferences in each area. We do not understand proximity solely as the physical distance to a store, but also as knowledge of the customer and the development of the socioeconomic fabric of each region in which we operate.
A MORE DEMANDING AND INFORMED CONSUMER
Today, knowing the origin of products has become the most important factor influencing purchasing decisions. According to data from AECOC, three out of four shoppers prefer fruit and vegetables produced in Spain, even when they cost more than imported products.
In addition, we have found that consumers have incorporated concern for environmental protection as another factor in their purchasing decisions. Responding to our customers’ concerns about sustainability, reflected in factors such as buying seasonal products or choosing loose fruit and vegetables, is currently one of our main management priorities. On the one hand, this means promoting a strategy based on locally sourced products in order to shorten supply chains. On the other, it means moving forward with packaging solutions that have a lower environmental impact.
These changes in purchasing patterns show that consumers are becoming increasingly demanding and better informed. Today’s customer wants to know what they are buying, where the product comes from and how it has been produced, while also considering value for money.
As retailers, we must work not only with a more demanding consumer, but also with one who has less time, which has driven changes in shopping habits and growth in the convenience category. For this reason, our members are investing in fourth- range solutions by increasing the space devoted to ready-to-eat products such as prepared salads and peeled
DISTRIBUTION CHALLENGES
Due to the very nature of the category—seasonality and the impact of weather conditions on production—operational management remains the main challenge, requiring inventory control that maintains a balance between product availability and waste.
“TODAY’S CUSTOMER WANTS TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE BUYING, WHERE IT COMES FROM AND HOW IT HAS BEEN PRODUCED.”
This structural complexity is currently compounded by the need to manage the negative impact of geopolitical instability on production and transportation costs, while working to limit the extent to which these costs are passed on to prices.
The solution lies in having a flexible supply chain that makes it easier to diversify sources of supply, as well as improving demand forecasting capabilities to increase efficiency by leveraging new and increasingly mature tools and technologies such as AI.
Article published in Revista Mercados