Cricket foresees reaching 200 has in bio

The company has a growth strategy that will continue over the next 3 years

In the last stretch of the brassica export campaign, Campo de Lorca (Cricket) is taking stock and foresees ending the campaign with normality and recovering some productivity in medium and high areas. “The good temperatures have meant that that the quality is very good and we have received the news that the campaign will extend until weeks 23-24. This 2-week bracket will give us greater production and export margins and will allow us to recover part of the productivity, ending in a positive balance thanks to this greater export volume,” explains Juan Marín, General Manager.

“Right now, we have a very important challenge ahead of us: to continue supplying broccoli, cauliflower and cabbages in the summer with guarantees. Fortunately, the rain and the May temperatures are making us see our May/June transplant crops with optimism and normality. The forecasts for the first summer phase (June/July) are quite good at the moment. Additionally, after the problems of last summer, we have taken corrective steps, such as strengthening the plants, irrigation (by soil and spraying) and we have sought out new farms to relocate the crops.” At Cricket they produce 365 days a year, therefore having varieties that adapt to the ever-changing weather conditions is essential.

One of the segments that has grown most at Cricket over the past 3 years is BIO (broccoli and cauliflower). This year there has been a very important growth, with a 40% increase in broccoli compared to the previous year and +25% in cauliflower, a strategy that will continue over the next 3 years, aimed at reaching 200 has in bio.

The commitment to BIO was a strategy that the company marked out 8 years ago to attend to the growing demand. “As specialists in brassicas with over 35 years of experience, the decision was to include it in our portfolio and to start with the conversion of farms. Additionally, to continue with the momentum of this range, 2 years ago we created the brand Cricket Bio, in line with the main brand, which shares the values of creating sustainable and regenerative agriculture where the available resources, the biodiversity and the care for the soil are taken into account,” Toñi Piernas, Marketing and Communication Manager, states. In order to do this, they created a very careful eco-design and packaging using sustainable materials that bring value and information to consumers.

“Our strategy is to continue working towards a circular economy (we work with a company that turns the broccoli waste into powder that is used in food and nutricosmetics). We are changing our packaging to more sustainable formats and removing all the plastics and containers possible.”

Innovation and biodiversity are another two of their important commitments; the capacity to adapt forms part of Cricket’s DNA. Currently, the company is developing an innovation programme with a double track: providing consumers with products prepared using their own raw materials and added value, and the use of digitalisation to improve the processes and efficiency in all the phases.

They are also continuing with the Baydiversity project, a conservation action plan for the flora and fauna on their farms and their habitats.