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Easyfresh Newsletter
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Tuesday, 15th November, 2016
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EASYFRESH NEWSLETTER Nr.15111625
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"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible."
"The enthusiasm is what makes the hope will shine as the stars."
"When storm winds blow some are to take refuge... and others build mills."
"We are what we eat, but what we eat can help us to be much more than what we are."
"The security is not that the situations you affirm that you are safe if not that you affirm to situations how safe you are."
"The electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles."
"Evolution is the infinite movement of what exists"
Issued by :
Easyfresh Management Office on behalf of Easyfresh Logistics, S.L.
Phone:
+34963218021
We’re on the Web!
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Reefer cargo is “conservative”. Time for change !
Analysts have made direct connections between the Colombian vote, the Brexit, vote and the U.S. November election. While plebiscites are different animals than, for example, presidential elections, the one element all three elections have in common is that voters in each are presented with a dichotomous choice: relatively predictable reformism (the Yes in Colombia, Remain in England, Hillary Clinton in the U.S.) versus unknown departure (the No vote, Brexit, Donald Trump).
In all cases, the more uncertain option is led by groups who are unhappy with the status quo.
When it comes to shipping and very much to reefer shipping and the logistics of fresh and frozen cargoes, we face a rather similar situation. Reefer cargo is “conservative”. Shippers and receivers pretend to protect their trade and this leads to a fragmented cold chain and possibly the “established/classic” solutions are possibly “not-the-best” long-term.
Anyhow there is a good difference in the political vs reefer logistics scenarios. The NO or ANTI voters pretend to penalize the “establishment”, though the alternatives do not seem always to be credible. People want a change, though the alternative seems to be unclear, in many cases.
When it comes to reefer logistics there are a number of local or regional very specialized reefer logistics operations that can help on the longer run. Anyhow the only real global alternative is one : Easyfresh : the only DEDICATED, NEUTRAL, GLOBAL reefer logistics suppliers.
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Good news - Fresh Produce Trade-
The report, titled 'New World Order Up-and-Coming Players in the Fresh Produce Trade'
Studies how the ranks of the world’s leading produce exporters are evolving, particularly highlighting the rise of developing countries and the changing face of consumer tastes and preferences.
Consumers worldwide are increasingly demanding a higher-value and more interesting range of fruits and vegetables.
The result is that, while the volume of fresh fruit and vegetable consumption around the world is barely increasing, the value of global fruit and vegetable trade is rising, spurred on by new developing markets such as China and the higher evolution of established markets such as the US.
While the European market might not be the growth engine for global exporters it once was, it nevertheless remains a very large and growing import market. The growth in nut and banana imports has been prominent, but rising demand for many other fruit and vegetable categories has also been creating opportunities, especially for producers in nearby countries such as Morocco and Turkey.
Well-established exporters like those in New Zealand, the US, Australia and Chile are looking to play a growing role in global trade.
Meanwhile, other producer nations such as Morocco, Thailand and Vietnam are also strategically well-placed to capitalise, as they look to better organise and orientate themselves to meet the product and quality requirements of today’s high-value import markets.
“As new and ambitious fresh horticultural produce suppliers such as Mexico and Peru quickly establish their credentials on the world stage, it pays for those among the more-established exporting nations to once again assess how they are positioned to compete and grow in the export markets of tomorrow”, says Marc Soccio, senior horticulture analyst at Rabobank.
Developments of agroecology handicapped by current trade and investment agreements?
New report from Friends of the Earth International finds that current strategies to raise investment in agriculture, such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as well as some major aid programmes, are most likely blocking rather than aiding the achievement of food security and food sovereignty.
One key reason is that trade and investment agreements focus on attracting agribusiness investments and are geared towards generating profits for them.
According to the authors, the main reason is profit. This is being done by using these agreements to open new markets for agribusinesses and including clauses in them that give comprehensive protection for agribusiness’ profits, even when this comes at the cost of States and peoples welfare.
In their obscene pursuit of profit, agribusinesses could even claim millions in compensation when States try to stop land grabbing or keep seeds free for farmers,” said Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Programme Coordinator for Food Sovereignty at Friends of the Earth International.
* TTIP: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnerships is a proposed free trade agreement, in negotiation, between the United States and the European Union. Laws that check our foods are safe or minimise the risk to people or the planet could be compromised if TTIP goes ahead. Europe's food production and many of our laws are often stricter than in the USA. Yet big business wants food products currently banned in the EU, but on sale in America, to automatically be allowed in Europe through TTIP.
** TPP: Trans Pacific Partnership is a trade agreement among twelve of the Pacific Rim countries - notably not including China. It is currently awaiting ratification to enter into force. The TPP contains measures to lower both non-tariff and tariff barriers to trade. TPP would set new terms for trade and business investment among the 12 Pacific Rim nations — a far-flung group with an annual gross domestic product of nearly $28 trillion that represents roughly 40 percent of global G.D.P. and one-third of world trade.
No doubt that global trade is an excellent tool for developments. Question is how to frame the global trade development in a constructive way: Changes in the TTIP and TPP are to come.
Healthy evolution?
Only 30% of people admit they consciously count calories nowadays, though it remains twice as common amongst those under 34 as for the over 55’s. And 60% claim the food they eat now is fresher and lighter than five years ago.
The health eating momentum is having a huge impact on the types of food and drink.
Polynesian food, vegetable yoghurt and perfume inspired cocktails are just some of the food trends coming our way.
Hawaiian poke, a raw fish salad marinated with lime, soy and sesame, and often served with rice, looks likely to be 2017’s take on sushi, while yoghurt infused with flavours of carrot, beetroot, sweet potato and tomato is another trend from the US.
Other examples of health led trends include the soaring sales of aubergines, which have increased by 18% as health conscious shoppers increasingly use them as carbohydrate substitutes for lasagne sheets or burger buns.
Meanwhile, the trend for “Dry January” has resulted in non alcoholic drinks sales soaring by 47% in the New Year.
But despite our increasingly puritanical lifestyles, every so often enjoy the very occasional extreme indulgence.
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Shipping Chocolate
How do chocolate companies face such high expectations while dealing with one of the most delicate items to ship?
Many demanding chocolate consumers are unaware of how difficult it is to ship chocolate and make sure it arrives in perfect conditions. Not the best premises to endure a thousand mile journey, especially to warm destinations.
Chocolate companies decide to prioritize the integrity of the packages over convenient prices and fast speed. It is important that the chocolate arrives intact and without flavor alteration.
Based on this premise, successful chocolate companies are adopting specific practices and policies to insure a smooth shipping process.
After going through the shipping policies of 15+ successful brands, from the industrial Ghirardelli, to the gourmet L.A. Burdick and the artisan Letterpress Chocolate, here are some important pieces of advice useful for all chocolate professionals that have to deal every day with the nightmare called shipping chocolate.
CHOOSE THE BEST DAYS; The time between the order is processed and the delivery is completed has to be as short as possible. This is why many chocolate companies only ship on Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday and avoid weekends and national holidays.
This is essential to not let the delicate packages sit in the courier’s warehouse with the chance of a dangerous switch in temperature.
CHANGE SHIPPING PRACTICES AND PRICES DURING SUMMER & WHEN CONSIDERING HOT DESTINATIONS; Many chocolate companies charge an extra or increase the price of the chocolate itself between the months of May and September, or when the package has to reach a warm location. This surplus covers the gel packs, dry ice, foam sheets, and other insulating material to prevent the heat from reaching the chocolate inside the package.
During warm months some brands also suspend the shipping of specific product lines (usually bonbons) due to their great delicacy that won’t be able to endure the trip.
INFORM CUSTOMERS; Customers have to be aware of the difficulties in shipping chocolate.
They need to be given valid reasons to why shipping is expensive and why they can’t order/receive their chocolate whenever they want. It’s important to share as much info as possible in the Shipping Policy page that every company should have on its website.
REJECT (ALMOST) EVERY RESPONSIBILITY; Chocolate companies decline any responsibility for broken/unattended/lost/stolen packages. Many are the passages of hands and temperatures before the package arrives at destination. Once it is verified that the chocolate was packaged with accuracy, there is no further step that the company can take to ensure the integrity of the package.
GIVE SHIPPING OPTIONS AND STATE THE RELATIVE PRICES; Due to the perishable nature of chocolate, the two most popular modalities are OVERNIGHT and 2nd DAY shipping. For temperatures at destination of 70°F (21°C) or for medium/long distances, overnight delivery is usually suggested, and ground shipping shouldn’t be included among the options.
Source: The chocolate journalist
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To boost e-commerce, SEKO signs on with Alibaba
Last week, US-based forwarder SEKO Logistics signed a deal with Alibaba.com Hong Kong to join its “OnePartner” programme.
The initiative aims to create a “new foreign trade ecosystem” by providing localisation and personalised export processes for small and medium enterprises in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
“Alibaba’s strategy is less about building significant infrastructure and more about building networks – it’s more about collaboration, which is what we’re seeking,”.-SEKO Logistics president-elect James Gagne.
In South-east Asia, e-commerce marketplace Lazada, – recently acquired by Alibaba – is also focused on building logistics ecosystems.
“Our goal is not to be the largest logistics company; we’re an e-commerce firm, but the ecosystem helps us improve service levels and capacity in the region, which is very fragmented from a logistics perspective.” said James Chang co-founder and chief operations officer at Lazada Crossborder in Hong Kong.
Lazada currently has 75 logistics partners covering its key markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, and operates five major distribution centres and 11 fulfilment centres.
According to Mr Chang, South-east Asia is the fastest-growing internet region, with 480m users expected to be connected by 2020, a year when 60% of its population will be under 35.
“It’s not about being everywhere, it’s about having the right partnerships, with technology at the heart of that to create the best consumer experience.”
SEKO recently added 100,000 sq ft of warehousing and fulfilment capacity in Hong Kong to provide an e-commerce gateway for customers targeting China’s online consumer market, which is forecast to see spending exceed US$1 trillion in 2017.
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A Little History of frozen foods
The easy and convenient home meal solutions provided by frozen food products today make our hectic life-styles seem a bit easier. In fact, frozen foods have been around a lot longer than you think, successfully evolving and adapting to the needs of consumers.
Freezing Foods Has Long History
The modern frozen food industry was born over 70 years ago, in 1930, but freezing foods as a means of preservation is a practice that has long historical roots. The first to harness the power of freezing foods beyond the winter months were the Chinese, who used ice cellars as early as 1000 B.C. The Greeks and Romans stored compressed snow in insulated cellars, and the Egyptians and Indians discovered that rapid evaporation through the porous walls of clay vessels produced ice crystals in the water inside the vessels.
But it was Clarence Birdseye and his American company that finally made frozen foods a practical reality in 1930. Legend has it that Birdseye’s interest in freezing food began in 1912, when, as a young engineer in Labrador, he often froze his catch after a day of fishing to keep it fresh. But it wasn’t until 1928 that Birdseye was successful in creating the double belt freezer, the forerunner of modern freezing technology, and not until 1930 that he finally introduced a line of frozen foods to the public.
Contrary to popular belief, the line was not strictly vegetables, but included 18 cuts of meat, spinach, peas, fruits and berries, fish fillets and Blue Point oysters.
But the road to consumer acceptance of these products was a long and rocky one. The first obstacle was the retailers themselves, who were unwilling to spend the money to buy refrigerated display cases to merchandise the new products.
Consumer resistance was also high, so the industry found its early savior in the institutional market. By the latter part of the 1930s, railroads and steamship lines became dumping grounds for surplus retail inventories and low or off-grade frozen products, because the frozen products were prepared before being served to diners, and customers didn’t know the food was frozen.
The War to Save Frozens
Frozen foods might have died off altogether if not for the onset of World War II. When Japan overran southeast Asia, it captured a large portion of the world’s tin resources and the U.S. government placed stringent controls on canners in an effort to conserve this vital wartime metal. This opened the door for frozens, which used less crucial materials such as paperboard, waxed paper and cellophane.
Furthermore, retail shelves emptied as canned goods went to war, so major grocery chains eagerly pressed frozens into service to fill the gaps. Additionally, since frozens did not use metal, their purchase by consumers required fewer ration points than canned products.
The 1940s were host to another milestone in the growth of the frozen food industry: the introduction of frozen concentrated orange juice.
This product really marked the first volume item for the frozen food industry, but was soon followed by another: frozen breaded seafood.
The TV Age
The 1950s were significant for the frozen food industry because it marked the introduction of a product that grew to be synonymous with the term frozen food: the TV Dinner. For the first time, a complete meal was available in frozen form to families who wished to dine quickly and easily at the table or in front of the TV, as the name implied. These dinners included an entree/meat item, a starch and a vegetable, and sometimes a dessert.
Americans were introduced to another favorite frozen food in the early 50s—the fish stick, and more companies scrambled to win a piece of the suddenly growing frozen food market. Because of this heightened competition, the 1950s remain as one of the most innovative periods in the history of frozen foods, and manufacturers all scrambled to bring new products to consumers first.
Among the other innovative foods introduced in frozen form during this decade were frozen pies and frozen side dishes.
The 1960s were characterized by a new “diet” craze in America, and from this craze such products as Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers were born. The industry continued to experience growth until the early 70s, when the country was gripped by one of the worst recessions in history, and an inflationary spiral that led the government to institute severe price controls.
Creative marketing and a strong determination attitude helped the industry to survive this tough period, and allowed the industry to remain strong heading into the late 70s and 80s, when a new invention led to booming sales.
The introduction of the microwave oven for home use allowed consumers to prepare frozen foods in record time, and solved the dilemma of families who now had two working parents. Teamed with the microwave oven, frozen food’s new buzzword became “convenience,” and consumers were quick to respond. TV dinners were replaced by “frozen entrees” and upscale dinners, with more taste and variety, and the option to prepare in minutes using the microwave.
The 1990s ushered in an era of “healthy” eating for Americans. Frozen foods were quick to adapt to this new life-style of America, and brands like Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, and many others thrived. Consumers were hungry not only for taste, but for healthy ingredients, and regulations requiring full disclosure of ingredients made consumers more health conscious than ever before. Words like “lite,” “low-salt,” “low-fat,” and “low-cholesterol” were the new adjectives of choice on frozen meals.
But, thanks to the tenacity and innovation of the frozen food industry, all these dreams are reality today.
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Logistics & a Smile:
Complexity of global trade : Do it yourself ???
________________________________________________________________ Videos, books, blogs, websites, others
Videos:
1. Luka Koper (Port of Koper) Presentation; https://youtu.be/Z77Z1Q6A7Rs
2. Fruit Logistica (Berlin); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCiTAvNe1NU
Articles & Market Reports:
1. The Economist "Global Food Security Index-2016":
2. Why Easyfresh will be present in Berlin Fruit Logistica 2017?
Blogs:
Easyfresh Blog: http://easyfresh-global-reefer-logistics.blogspot.com.es/
Easyfresh TV: http://easyfreshtv.web.tv/
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Easyfresh Newsletter, November 2016
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