Letitia Heunes from McCain Foods won the FRV/Symrise New Product Competition 2009 for McCain's HomeFries range. Her prize was a trip to Anuga. Food Review caught up with Heunes to gauge her thoughts on the event.
I found Anuga absolutely overwhelming. There were parts I didn't even see because it was just too big. I paid particular attention to the frozen foods, because that's McCain's primary focus here.
Despite the vastness of the show, I was somewhat disappointed with the frozen vegetable selection. There was nothing new or particularly innovative and I went specifically to get ideas and inspiration for this sector.On the potato side, there were variations on croquettes and potato snacks, which McCain Foods already manufactures around the world.
Frozen trends
There is no doubt that frozen sweets and cakes are a growing trend in Europe. It was striking for me because they represented that 'pure indulgence' and threw the health and wellness trend that categorised much of the show out of the window.
There was also a focus on snacks and appetizers in the frozen section - some quite intricate - but I don't think they'd appeal to the South African market. Bread was also quite prominent in the frozen section - frozen in slices as well as other types of baked goods like rolls and croissants. They are all fully cooked, but I think once again fit well into the convenience trend.
Frozen fruit was huge. Especially berries - I suppose because of the ease of freezing. Countries like China, Korea and the Middle East were also offering really well-priced frozen fruit. I also noticed lots of frozen apples in every conceivable form - pureed, sliced, halved, quartered.
Aside from frozen food, Asian food trends are also conspicuous in nearly every sector. South Africa was also quite prominent because of our hosting of the World Cup next year. 'African' flavours were on display. Some of it was not really accurate though, because couscous was shown as a SA product, which it isn't really.
Highlights
The frozen herbs on show from France really impressed me. They were packaged attractively in an easy-to-use plastic container and the range was impressive.
The Italian ready-meal vending machine was also a fabulous idea. It heats up convenience meals in less than two minutes and keeps the food chilled (not frozen) to facilitate quick re-heating. I think something like this would be a great success in offices or residences here.
What I learnt
I think it reinforced that we're on the right track in terms of product development in South Africa, which is reassuring. In fact, McCain Foods South Africa is going to be bringing out a fabulous new product in April, which fits in really well with trends I saw at Anuga.
I also saw first-hand the real difference between product development for Europe and South Africa. There were so many indulgent or 'gadgety' products available that wouldn't fly here.
Advice for Anuga 2011
1. Invest in good quality black suits if you want to fit in with the crowds.
2. Invest in a good German dictionary, especially if you are living outside of the main centres
3. Plan well before hand. You can't walk around aimlessly for five days - it's just too big.
4. Take some time out to see Cologne - it's beautiful.
