When the weather changes, does the value of fruit and veg change too?

The UK has experienced a summer of unusually high temperatures, prolonged dry spells and repeated heatwaves. While that may have been welcome news for holidaymakers, it presents a very different picture for growers.

Hot, dry conditions can put crops under stress, affecting yields, quality, size and availability. Some crops may mature earlier, while others may produce lower yields or require more irrigation. And as the effects of this summer’s weather work their way through the supply chain, there could be implications for the cost of fresh fruit and vegetables.

For hospitality and foodservice operators, this raises an important procurement question: what does value for money actually look like when buying fresh produce?

The cheapest price isn’t always the best value

When budgets are tight, the natural response is to focus on the price per kilo, case or unit. But with fresh produce, that doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story.

A cheaper product may have a shorter shelf life, greater waste, inconsistent sizing or a lower usable yield. Meanwhile, a product that appears more expensive on the price list could potentially deliver better value once quality, yield and waste are taken into account.

Equally, when weather-related pressures push the price of a particular product upwards, simply switching to the cheapest available alternative may not deliver the best outcome.

This is where benchmarking can provide a much clearer picture.

Benchmarking the real cost of fresh produce

For procurement teams, understanding whether a price represents good value requires context. How does it compare with the wider market? Is the movement specific to a particular supplier or product, or is it reflecting wider supply pressures? And are you still getting the right value from the product you are buying?

Benchmarking helps answer these questions by providing visibility of how prices are moving and where purchasing sits against the wider market. That insight becomes particularly valuable when external factors – such as extreme weather – start to disrupt normal supply and pricing patterns.

Understanding what ‘reasonable’ is when market conditions are unusual

For hospitality businesses, the key is not simply to find the lowest price, but to understand whether the price being paid represents good value in the context of the current market.

In an increasingly unpredictable food market, robust benchmarking can help procurement teams distinguish between a genuine market movement and an opportunity to challenge, negotiate or reconsider their purchasing approach.

If you want to understand whether your fresh produce prices are genuinely competitive in today’s market, talk to our team here about how benchmarking can give you the insight to make more informed procurement decisions.

The Quenelles team