Unlike the high-street trade, the hospitality sector seems loath to
promote its involvement in the Fairtrade movement, with some venues
rarely doing more than putting a discreet "we use Fairtrade" at the
bottom of a menu. Diane Lane reports

The
hospitality trade rates a moderate report for its work so far with
Fairtrade products – "could do better". And the opportunity to do
better is just around the corner, with Fairtrade Fortnight running from
22 February to 7 March.

The industry's apparent lack of
Fairtrade involvement is not a matter of social conscience, it is one
of marketing, because the majority of caterers who support the Fairtrade movement simply do not promote it.

This is partly because higher-end hotels and restaurants think that shouting about one's ethics at point of service
is not the right thing to do, and partly because Fairtrade's own
publicity material is always targeted at high-street retail – what the beverage trade calls "grinning kids", the typical images of farming families, just do not suit Park Lane tea lounges.

As a result, venues that support the movement rarely do more than
put a discreet "we use Fairtrade" at the bottom of a menu and that,
says the Fairtrade Foundation, is just too understated, and does
neither the catering trade or the movement any good.

"It's a
very interesting problem," acknowledges Richard Anstead, head of
business development at the foundation. "Every year, we produce posters
for the high-street trade – but I'd be surprised to see them in an
upmarket hotel. The hospitality sector remains a challenge for us."

However,
he says, as more Fairtrade-certified products become available,
opportunities for "acceptable" ethical messages are increasing.
"Fairtrade cut flowers are a very strong growth area. They come from
Africa, and studies say their carbon footprint is six times less than
importing flowers from Northern Europe. I have now seen a hotel chain
use Fairtrade flower bouquets, with a very simple card saying so, and
no picture of a smiling farmer.

"Bedroom cosmetics are a new
area, and for a 'pampering' hotel, this will be a very exciting
development. Fairtrade cotton is now in its fifth year, and towels, bed linen and uniforms already exist. A discreet Fairtrade Mark on the bottom of a waiter's apron makes a very big point."

PROMOTING FAIRTRADE

There
is more to making that point than meets the eye, says the Fairtrade
Foundation. For the hospitality trade, it is the acceptance that being
seen to work with Fairtrade is good for business. And yet even activist
Bruce Crowther, the man behind the world's first Fairtrade town at
Garstang, Lancashire, says he continues to have trouble persuading the
local trade that promoting Fairtrade is "proper".

"The Co-op
told me that when it went to Fairtrade chocolate, it outsold what had
been its bestseller by four to one. And then the Slug and Lettuce chain
of pubs changed to Fairtrade coffee after one local manager said
'customers always have a second cup'.

"This is what we say to
all hotels and restaurants – if the big boys see good business in
promoting Fairtrade, then so should you.

"It should be a piece of cake. Every decent restaurant
will tell you the name of the local farm that their beef comes from,
and they will write in their wine lists about where the wine comes
from, but they never put their Fairtrade sources on their menus. What's
the difference?"

Consumers do actually want to see this, says
Sue Cronin-Jones, purchasing director at DBC Foodservice. "A third of
consumers want more Fairtrade products in restaurants and pubs but 32%
of people say that apparent non-availability remains the reason they do
not purchase Fairtrade products. So, stating that a dish is made from
Fairtrade rice provides a piece of memorable information for customers,
and restaurateurs should always state if a recipe uses Fairtrade ingredients."

Here
comes an opportunity, says the foundation. The theme for this year's
Fairtrade Fortnight is "the Big Swap", an attempt to persuade consumers
to try a Fairtrade equivalent of their usual choice. This can apply to
ingredients.

It is still unusual for a kitchen to use Fairtrade
as its point of difference, but it is beginning to happen, observes Eli
Sarre, marketing manager at Essential Trading. "Just as some
ground-breaking restaurants develop a reputation for organic or local
food, we now have those who are recognised for Fairtrade. The
customers' perception is that restaurants who promote themselves as
'organic Fairtrade' will source the very best ingredients."

Essential
Trading now offers catering sizes for Fairtrade ingredients including
basmati and Jasmine rice, sesame seeds, cashew nuts, chocolate-covered fruit and mango slices.

That
so few restaurants promote Fairtrade ingredients, just shows how
practical marketing of Fairtrade is still in its infancy, observes Ben
Lock, head of sales at Traidcraft. "Consumers know about Fairtrade
coffee from the supermarket – but how many realise that a local
independent restaurant may use Fairtrade rice as part of its menu?

"Traidcraft
already has honeys, jam and marmalade which are used extensively by bed
and breakfast operators. We now also have high-quality Fairtrade
basmati rice from Agrocel in India, Fairtrade organic pasta and
Fairtrade quinoa flour from the slopes of the Andes. Our Fairtrade
olive oil is from Palestine, from disadvantaged farmers."

Similarly,
more Fairtrade spices are now available from Steenbergs – organic curry
powder, organic garam masala and organic cardamom pods have joined a
range that is now 13-strong, all Fairtrade and organic.

QUALITY DEMANDS

Pre-packed snack producers have seen the demand for quality increase, says Ian Toal, managing director of Delice de France.
"In the past, Fairtrade products have not been known as providing value
for money – now, a Nielsen report says that while there is a huge
propensity for people wanting Fairtrade, they will not spend on
something that is not good value for money".

Peros, already the biggest supplier of Fairtrade beverages to food service, has launched two new ranges of Fairtrade snacks. The One World range includes a substantial Eccles cake plus flapjacks, brownies, and muffins,
and Peros says that independent blind tastings against market-leading
competitor products have produced favourable results. The second range
is of cookies.

The "limited-edition" Fairtrade product has now
arrived from Byron Bay Cookies. This idea has already been used for a
strawberries-and-cream
cookie, sold during summer – some tea-houses made up a cookie-and-tea
menu item – and the plum pudding cookie for Christmas. The Fairtrade
Fortnight one is an apricot and almond muesli cookie.

Fairtrade
nibbles on the bar are now possible -Harry's Nuts are headed by TV
presenter Harry Hill, in support of smallholder farmers in Malawi and
Mozambique, many of whom are women looking after Aids orphans. He
argues a quality issue – the nuts are claimed to be tastier than
big-name competitors.

In the dessert sector, Fairtrade ice-cream
is now a desirable menu feature. Wilma Finlay, the managing director at
Cream o' Galloway, explains that the sugar content of ice-cream alone makes up the required Fairtrade content, but that flavouring can be a problem.

"We
use elderflower cordial to flavour our ice-cream, and that cordial
includes non-Fairtrade sugar. We have to apply for a derogation – if we
can show that we cannot buy elderflower cordial made with Fairtrade
sugar, then they will allow it."

Big progress is being made in
Fairtrade wine. It still accounts for only 2% of the market, and only
comes from South Africa, Chile and Argentina, but last year's annual
Fairtrade wine-tasting event achieved a 34% increase in entrants.

"It is at the cheaper volume end of the market that these wines generally perform," says Neil Palmer, director at Vintage Roots. "There is possibly a lack of higher-end wines, at £9 or over."

Opportunities are also arriving in non-food sectors. The Fairtrade Foundation is targeting the hospitality industry for cotton uniforms, largely because Fairtrade clothing sales in the fashion stores have dropped in the recession. Contract caterer ISS Eaton
has been quick to see the potential, and at the Open University in
Milton Keynes, all kitchen staff uniforms will be Fairtrade-certified.
Even the oven mitts are Fairtrade.

FAIRTRADE FIRSTS

Better yet, says the foundation, hotels can potentially furnish entire bedrooms with Fairtrade fabrics.

And
within those rooms can now be Fairtrade cosmetics. Sue Acton, director
of Bubble and Balm, claims several Fairtrade firsts in soap products using Fairtrade-certified sugar from Malawi and Zambia and shea butter from Burkina Faso.

"We
are now launching the first-ever natural liquid soaps with the
Fairtrade Mark, and we believe these have great potential in hotels and
restaurants that want to demonstrate their commitment to Fairtrade."

An
extremely convenient new aspect of Fairtrade for caterers is the way
that certain big brands have now taken up the Fairtrade Mark.

When
Fairtrade first arrived, the problem for the hospitality trade was that
the first products were brought out by small pioneer companies, who
might be wonderful manufacturers, but whose names meant nothing to the public.
This year it is easier, in that more well-known products can be
promoted through their Fairtrade status – Cadburys achieved the
Fairtrade Mark on its Dairy Milk chocolate bars last summer, and now
Nestlé UK has put the logo on Kit Kat bars. For the first time, the
cliché about "the reassurance of brand" can go side-by-side with
legitimate Fairtrade accreditation.

Byron Bay launched a limited edition cookie while Harry Hill has lent his name to a range of bar snacks

By:

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper

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