BOOST FOR YORKSHIRE’S FOOD AND DRINK PRODUCERS

A new business initiative to give the best of Yorkshire’s food and drink producers a bigger presence on supermarket shelves is to be launched this week with the news that it will start supplying three ASDA stores in July before rolling out to further stores in the region by the end of the year.

The Yorkshire Farmhouse initiative aims to bridge the gap between the mainly small-scale local producers and the large-scale supermarket buyers by providing a central purchasing, storage, and distribution hub that has guaranteed access into participating stores.

The ASDA stores kicking off the initiative have pledged to expand the aisle space dedicated to local produce, which will be highlighted in-store under the ASDA – Local Produce banner.

Yorkshire Farmhouse is the brainchild of the Potter family of Catton, Thirsk, who have built up a thriving business supplying their James Potter Farmhouse brand of free range and organic eggs to supermarkets and other retail outlets in the Yorkshire region.

Sales Director Adrian Potter says: “ASDA is taking the lead in the swing to promoting regional producers and asked us to set up a Yorkshire food and drink hub in conjunction with the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Food Group. Yorkshire Farmhouse already has a fleet of transport delivering our local eggs to supermarkets, so it seemed a logical step to utilise our established infrastructure.

“Over 80% of consumers think Yorkshire food tastes better and would buy more if it was available. But we have found that many regional producers do not have resources or time to gain access to larger markets. Yorkshire Farmhouse aims to overcome this by purchasing the best of their produce and delivering into stores on a regular basis.

“We’ll also be able to offer advice on a range of marketing issues such as packaging, labelling and technical accreditation, in addition to providing in-store merchandising.”

A spokesperson for ASDA’s local sourcing team, which recently won The Grocer Award for Innovation in Retailing, says: “Local food is the fastest growing part of ASDA’s food business. We are already generating £15m of sales from 45 suppliers from the Yorkshire region and we want to increase this by 60-70% this year. That’s why we are backing Yorkshire Farmhouse.”

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