the foraging fox

Exporter case study: The Foraging Fox

In the latest of our exporter case studies following the recent Export Action Plan competition final, we talk to runners up The Foraging Fox.

Who are The Foraging Fox? 

THE FORAGING FOX are makers of an all-natural range of beetroot ketchups. We launched about three years ago at the Speciality and Fine Food Fair and are now listed in over 1250 stores in the UK. We currently export to 8 countries and are looking to expand into 5 new markets by the end of 2018.

And how are the exports going?

The export side of our business continues to grow, which is great to see! We’ve got 2 big core markets that we’re going to focus on in the next year: the U.S.A and Europe (where our focus is really on consolidating).  We’ve already committed to 2 key trade shows in 2018; Natural Products Expo West in March and SIAL in October. It’s SO exciting to be able to exhibit at 2 key shows in the coming months!

The U.S.A is such an important market for us because both the online and in-store potential is huge. It has a big population, they are big ketchup and beetroot fans  and there’s an ongoing trend towards natural and Free From products – our ketchups really resonate with people who are looking for something which is natural, really tasty and just better!

The same can be said for Europe, which is our second core market and where again the development of the fine food market has really taken hold.  There is much more choice now available to the consumer and they’re showing us that they’re prepared to pay a little bit more for better ingredients.

How has the action plan helped The Foraging Fox with your exporting?

Working with the Action Plan really helps you to focus your attention on your shorter term as well as more medium to long term goals – it can also help you identify any patterns in the business.  More specifically for me it made me re-think the interplay between our marketing strategy in the UK and that for our export markets.

When I was in the tool, it also made me think about where it is it that we should really allocate more marketing spend – in which markets do we really see the bigger potential. Sometimes you can get so busy just doing that you forget to ask yourself these important strategic questions. It’s good to take a step back and look at the bigger picture….it actually made me change my mind about a couple of decisions I’d made earlier in the year!

In terms of Brexit – how are you feeling about it at the moment?

All food businesses will have to look across their supply chain and think about ways they can maintain their edge in an increasingly competitive market.  We’re thinking about expanding into markets outside of the EU, we’re thinking about consolidating distributors within the EU and we’re also thinking about ways in which we can work smarter across our supply chain more generally. Pricing is key so we’re not only thinking about how competitive our pricing can be next year but also 2-3 years down the line as we explore new ways of working and new partners.

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