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 | | RETAILERS NATIONWIDE GET CHANCE TO ‘SAVOUR THE FLAVOUR’ | | | Heart of England fine foods (HEFF) | | 31/01/2008 | | | An innovative midlands-based scheme which incentivises retailers to stock more local produce is being rolled out nationwide.
‘Savour the Flavour’, a scheme devised by Heart of England fine foods (HEFF), provides free branded display and point of sale equipment and support to retailers on condition that they develop or increase their line-up of items produced in the heart of England region.
The initiative is already proving a major success across the midlands region, in particular among smaller retailers, who are able to enhance the range of items they offer – and thus their service to customers - without having to make substantial financial outlay on capital goods such as refrigerators and freezers.
The first retailer from outside HEFF’s area* to sign up for the scheme is Shepherd’s Farm Shop, which is based near Newent in Gloucestershire. The store offers a wide range of produce from fruit and vegetables, jams and preserves, free range meat and poultry, to pies and cakes, cheeses and dairy produce. The vast majority is sourced locally from Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, keeping ‘food miles’ to a minimum.
Through Savour the Flavour, the shop has acquired a multi-deck chiller and a mini freezer which have proved a major boon to the business.
Founder Susie Keenan explained: “Our existing storage units were just getting too full and this new equipment has allowed us to enhance our range of local items as well as saving us the cost of buying this type of equipment ourselves which would have been a significant outlay for a business of this size.”
Meanwhile the Savour the Flavour has also played a big part in the success of a fledgling village store being run on a voluntary basis by local residents.
The scheme provided two chillers and a freezer to the Whitbourne Village Community Shop at Whitbourne, between Worcester and Bromyard, at a reduced cost on condition that these were stocked with local produce.
Six months on and the shop now stocks up to 80 lines from around 20 local producers – from cheese, butter and eggs, to more unusual items – and is turning over some £1,200 each week.
Chris Roberts, treasurer of Whitbourne Village Community Shop said: “There was no shortage of enthusiasm or financial support for a new shop but the availability of chilling equipment was always a potential obstacle.
“However, through HEFF’s Savour the Flavour, we’ve managed to obtain these within our budget while fulfilling one of our main goals for the shop – reducing ‘food miles’ by offering quality local produce.
“Without the chilling units, we would have struggled to offer the range of products that we wanted to – it’s no exaggeration to say that without Savour the Flavour our shop would not have achieved what it has done to date.”
Another outlet which has been able to expand its offering through Savour the Flavour is the Hop Pocket Wine Company of Bishops Frome in Herefordshire, which sells regional wines, beers, ciders, spirits and soft drinks – most sourced from within a 40-mile radius - to the public both from a shop and an online store.
The company has increased its range significantly through ‘Savour the Flavour’, with two branded fridges allowing it to stock nearly 70 products compared with around 50 before.
Company owner Patrick Shave explained: “We are delighted with the Savour the Flavour units, they have helped us expand our product range and had a really positive impact on sales. It’s great to have a local focus within our shop and I would recommend the scheme to anyone who stocks produce from within the region.”
Louise Pickford, business development manager at HEFF added: “Savour the Flavour is a scheme which is helping many smaller retailers expand their product range and thus footfall and revenue without having to tie up funds in capital goods. The beauty of the scheme is its versatility – participants can use it to add different product lines to their offering or to enhance their range of existing products if they are a specialist store.
“Either way, it’s a win-win situation for the stores, the producers who are now selling through more outlets, and above all customers who are more easily able to access high quality, locally produced foods and beverages.”
Savour the Flavour is benefiting from the launch of a unique delivery service by HEFF being hailed a huge success by participating producers.
The Delivery Service is a partnership between HEFF and Heart Distribution, a subsidiary of A.F.Blakemore & Son (a leading wholesale company), formed to deliver food and drink from HEART of ENGLAND fine foods members.
Currently 62 food and drink producers across the midlands have signed up to the pioneering scheme and a waiting list for phase two is growing.
Over 1,000 product lines are being distributed, from bakery to beverages, dairy to meat, game and fish across three temperature regimes.
The service offers a one-stop shop for retailers and foodservice companies, satisfying a growing demand to source regional food and drink and offering the clear financial savings for producers who no longer have to deliver small quantities to multiple customers across a large geographical area.
Products are delivered by Heart Distribution in multi-temperature, HEFF branded vehicles keeping them ambient, chilled or frozen. The service uses a 60,000 sq ft multi-temperature facility at Darlaston in the West Midlands.
Louise Pickford added: “This is an innovative partnership operation between HEFF, our producers and Heart Distribution. Our Savour the Flavour retailers are clearly going to benefit.
“It is not a wholesale operation, more a fast and efficient distribution channel solely for our producers. They retain control over where their products are sold and at what price.
“Heart Distribution is the logistical arm of the HEFF Trade Development programme providing the solution to delivering products to the new markets we access and any existing customers. It provides an important link to our Savour the Flavour regional and national retail outlets, as well as direct supply to the HEFF mini bars in hotels and our school vending machine customers.” | |
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