Supply-chain glitch keeps British newbies off U.S. shelves

Retailers source British specialties direct

It's not the scarcity of new products that may be keeping some British introductions off the shelves but rather, observers say, a series of factors ranging from a lack of interested importers to an unfavorable dollar-to-pound ratio to a buying public that favors the tried-and-true.

Steve Dawson, president, Food From Britain North America, said his organization's priority is to find the right targets for U.K.-made products even as "fewer and fewer importers are willing to pioneer new products."

The frustration, Dawson said, isn't the lack of products. "There's no shortage of products," he said, citing everything from farmhouse cheeses to small-batch, artisanal items. Rather, he said, it's a glitch in the supply chain that is keeping some companies from taking on new brands or wanting to carry new brands only if the manufacturer bears the cost of making the introduction.

As a result, he said, "we're doing an end run-finding retailers who buy direct." The traditional supply chain, Dawson said, "is too complicated, too slow, too outdated. Customers suffer because they are denied choice."

Prices, which have been higher lately for British products because of the exchange rate, "would drop 40 percent if you had a simpler supply chain," Dawson added.

He said British foods fit into the categories where there is growing interest, such as the Slow Food movement which often targets items that are farmstead, organic and artisanal.

"People have lost a connection with where their food comes from," Dawson said, but added they want to get that connection back.

Retailers focused on selling only U.K.-made products said part of the issue is that their customer base, usually about half of which are British ex-patriots, want the foods with which they are familiar.

This usually encompasses teas, candies, biscuits and condiments, said Maureen Sewell, owner of Awfully Civilized, a British shop and on-line store in Paso Robles, Calif.

Sewell said her current store, located in an antique mall, is a temporary location because her previous shop was damaged in an earthquake. A new, 1,600-square-foot store is slated to open in November.

"We stay with well-known British brands," she said, citing labels such as PG Tips and Typhoo teas, "but I also like to bring in some other interesting items" such as Thursday Cottage preserves.

Internet sales make up about half of the business for Wise Choice British Foods, Gifts & Candies, which has a 2,500-square-foot store in Huber Heights, Ohio.

Harry Caswell, president of the company, said business continues to grow at the rate of about 50 percent a year since he acquired the company in 1997.

Top sellers for Caswell include traditional British fare-sausages, meat pies and haggis, all made in the United States but based on British recipes; along with HP sauces, Heinz beans, Branston pickle and the like.

"The one thing I found," Caswell said, "if we start to go off on a tangent, we don't have good marketability. Our customers are looking for staple items."

The exception, he said, is at Christmas when everyday items are surplanted by cakes, puddings and Christmas crackers. At Easter, he said, he brings in a range of decorated eggs from England.

Most customers, he said, are people who have been to Great Britain on travels or through the military "or Anglophiles or want-to-be Anglophiles."

Sponsorship on the local public TV station during the airing of British comedies helps drive customers into Caswell's store or onto his Web site.

More than half of Unity MacLean's business now comes from her Web site, Britishsupplies.com. The remainder shop at her store, British Imports of Plymouth in Plymouth, Mass.

With just 600 square feet of space, MacLean stocks her shop with British staples and non-food items such as teapots, cozies, Union Jack table linens and British comedy videos.

Food items range from candies and teas to jams, clotted cream, cheese and snacks.

Even with an unfavorable exchange rate, MacLean said customers are willing to pay for those British items they crave. "The rate of exchange made prices go up recently," she said, "but it hasn't affected sales. People are usually quite happy to pay for it as long as they can get it," she said, citing one customer's quest for Heinz English Salad Cream.

Both MacLean and Caswell said issues related to Mad Cow disease have halted access to British-style meat products from Canada. "You can't get a decent Cornish pasty," said MacLean, who said she used to source pasties and other meat pies from Canada.

While more stringent rules maybe holding up some products, John Bamberger of British Wholesale Imports, Westlake Village, Calif., said the gray market is allowing some items that shouldn't be on the market to be sold here anyway.

Often, he said, items are banned because of improper labels or illegal colors or ingredients. For importers such as British Wholesale, an item meeting the legal requirements often gets held up because of its improperly labeled counterpart. Now even the properly labeled item must be tested and go through multiple documentation processes. "And if the gray market product tries to come in again, you may have to start all over," Bamberger said.

He said this process, along with the risks of marketing a new item only to have it come in at a cheaper price under a gray market label, can be devastating to importers.

But, Bamberger noted, it can also be a problem for retailers if they are found with banned items on their shelves. "Those retailers who knowingly buy that (gray market) product are in a compromising position," he said.

"The growth and demand for British and international products is huge," he said, "which necessitates the importation of more goods. But as importation increases, the market for gray market products also increases and requires more FDA enforcement."

For its part, Dawson of Food From Britain North America said some retailers are willing to sell products with improper labels or ingredients because customers demand them, and someone is willing to supply them. Many of what Dawson termed "classic ex-pat British products" fall into this category.

"What we (FFB) will do is make sure big companies whose brands are affected know so they can protect themselves," he said.

If retailers want a British set, Dawson said Food From Britain will help them. "We're here to build legitimate brands," he said.

Copyright United Publications, Inc. Aug 2004
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