Not content with just seeing its high quality corn and other seasonal veg filling supermarket shelves across the nation, major vegetable producer Barfoots of Botley has been experimenting with bolder methods of reaching the consumer and putting its products on the map. And, after nearly two years of hard-grafting, the end product - a mobile catering franchise known as CornUtopia - has officially hit the road.
The idea for selling fresh corn straight to the consumer developed from fairly low-key beginnings, according to CornUtopia account manager, Jon Barfoot. “Peter (Barfoot) and I sold cooked corn-on-the-cob from a large barbecue at Fareham Farmers market in 1997 as a fund raiser for the local Lions club and the public loved it.” Since then, for the past five summers, the company has carried out sweetcorn information road-shows in supermarket car parks, offering samples of microwaved corn wheels.
Research for the CornUtopia concept began in November 2003, with an initial budget set at £15,000. The first designs emerged the following spring, and the finished mobile catering unit, Bob’s CornUtopia Field Café, complete with attractive cartoon character Bob Cob, was launched at outdoor events in June 2004.
“To start with, we kept the offer simple: just selling sweetcorn - microwaved and then finished on a flame grill - with freshly ground espresso coffee and freshly squeezed juice to meet the demand for hot and cold refreshment,” says Barfoot. “To add theatre to the shop front we got some flashy piri-piri sauce dispensers from Nandos, one of our foodservice customers. Corn was then served with butter and spicy sauce in front of the customers, on a customised corn-holder tray.”
Despite this simplicity, the venture proved hugely successful, and at the end of a 10-week period the company had averaged in excess of £600 a day in takings, which provided enough impetus to explore the idea further.
While the van rested up for winter, Barfoots established an office for the project, applied for MOCA (Mobile Outdoor Catering Association) registration, and organised an action-packed schedule for 2005, planning to be in operation from April to December.
Confident of the value of this innovation, the company broadened its horizons in a number of ways, to cater for those wanting something other than sweetcorn. “With the deposit paid for two new ‘super units’ and some state-of-the-art cooking technology incorporated, the next step was to develop the menu further to meet the diverse hunger states of future customers - be they festival goers or garden show visitors,” Barfoot says. “Other core Barfoots products from our fresh-preparation factory were added to the menu including sweet potato wedges, roasted vegetable medleys and soups. We found hand-made, gourmet vegetarian pies from Higgidy in Sussex, who agreed to make a commemorative CornUtopia Pie with Barfoots-grown asparagus, chillies, butternut and Sussex blue cheese. We brought in jacket potatoes for the cold days and have more recently developed a French-style pizza slice in three variants, all containing fresh vegetables.”
However, the focus never shifted far from the original star of the show, he continues. “The common denominator for all these new additions was corn-on-the-cob - it features in every dish we offer, whether in nibblet form or in nuggets, our menu terminology for ‘on the cob’.” With a purely vegetarian offering, health is clearly a key consideration. At the same time, the company has capitalised on the opportunity to champion local produce, as well as more mainstream causes. “Along the way we have re-designed the brand logo to a striking, friendly and recognisable image, and worked on our strap line which now reads: ‘Tasty Wholesome Food that Tells a Story’ from its previous statement of ‘Field Fresh Food To Go’. We are still vegetarian and still health-food focused, but it was felt that even the atypical non-vegetarian male could be won over by a shift in the strap line’s connotations. In keeping with the message, we have changed all our fresh coffee and orange suppliers to Fairtrade, using organic wherever possible. We are also working on stocking only packaging that can be composted or biodegraded for 2006.”
This year has been challenging but Barfoot is delighted with all that has been achieved to make the concept suitable for widespread replication: “We now have a supply chain, stock control audit system and many friends in the darkened world of outdoor events. With takings regularly achieved of over £2,500 per day, we are beginning to claw back our initial investment, but there’s still plenty of work to be done to reach the £4,000 per day takings target we have set ourselves to galvanise an outstanding franchise business opportunity.” In addition, Barfoots has also invested in an interactive web facility to promote the opportunity to investors and outline the processes involved.
Barfoots believes Bob’s CornUtopia has the potential to reap vast rewards and is keen to develop its presence significantly, while exercising due control over the process. “Franchising is a vehicle for business growth, but it is hard to find the right calibre of franchisee,” says Barfoot. “We are targeting investors who want to make a return from doing something healthy with their money, improving the quality of customers’ lives by offering them a high quality and nutritious food experience. It sounds evangelical, but they simply have to believe in this as a way of life; it can’t be about pretense because they are interested in the ‘healthy eating trend’. I know for a fact that life on the road, on the outdoor catering circuit, can be tough at times - long hours and lots of technical problems - so although the returns are good, it’s not ‘easy money’ by any means.”
However, Barfoot believes the investment, both financial and physical, will be repaid in full for those driven by more than just profit. “Ask yourself the question - if you could clear £3,000 per day selling dodgy frozen burgers and chips from Booker, would you bother pushing veggy food at the same event, given your audience is smaller? But put the shoe on the other foot, and queue at an event with your children for something that is overpriced and the worst kind of nutrition, and you might see things differently - it depends on your values.”
Barfoot says the company is seeking to attract franchisees prepared to appreciate the big picture and commit to managing an operation on the scale of four units in a master location. Investors for Brighton and Bournemouth have already been recruited in this fashion, he says.
Barfoots seem to have high expectations of potential investors, but this is repaid with considerable investment on its own part. As well as a fully-equipped and attractive mobile catering unit, the business opportunity includes a training package, covering marketing, preparation, food preparation, business management, health & safety and administration; a launch programme, with suggestions for potential events and contacts; promotional items, such as uniforms, balloons, flags and leaflets; a draft business operations manual; and “an ongoing supply of the highest quality food products available”.
Barfoot says the business has learned a multitude of operational lessons in this, its inaugural year, not least the need to “be positive, stick to the vision and vibe with the customer”. And the future looks rosy, with some surprising events in the pipeline. “When not at outdoor events, exhibitions or weddings etc, CornUtopia also cameos as a field-marketing vehicle. The team has just picked up a lucrative contract to undertake a chef demonstration and sampling roadshow for a food brand across the UK from October to December at leading multiples. This was unexpected and not part of the plan, but after a PR agency executive saw our team buzzing at a music festival, we were asked to quote and the rest is history.”
So, has Barfoots set a precedent for other industry groups? The concept clearly works for a largely corn-based menu, but could it be replicated or rolled out to include other produce? Barfoot suggests an open mind and an affinity for innovation and adaptability are invaluable qualities for today’s industry. “Diversification has been the call to arms for an agricultural industry in a climate of supplier rationalisation and falling farm incomes,” he suggests. “Whether this is the right thing for everyone I couldn’t comment, but I know of plenty of farming entrepreneurs who have added value to their commercial propositions in related ways. Farmers are practically-minded grafters who can make most things happen.” In the mean time, Barfoots will move forward in a temperate manner, concentrating on doing what it does best, he concludes: “The plan for now is to keep people well fed with quality, positive nutrition. World domination can wait for next year!”
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