When more or less everyone you meet whilst visiting a county - from people born and bred there to a couple holidaying in a rural bed and breakfast - tells you that it has almost become a forgotten corner of the UK, the alarm bells start ringing that this region might need more of a boost than most to firmly reclaim its place on the map.
Lincolnshire County Council has recognised this, and ploughed substantial funds into a number of projects aimed at getting the county brand well known both inside and outside of its boundaries. And with 20 per cent of the UK’s fresh produce, and 30 per cent of its vegetables, produced in the county, the growing industry has been keen to get on board and give its full backing to the schemes.
The Tastes of Lincolnshire project was set up in 2002, with council and EU funding, to push local food sourcing within the county, with the aim of showcasing the best the region had to offer in culinary terms to visitors to its numerous pubs, hotels and restaurants.
Select Lincolnshire is an altogether much newer initiative, which kicked off last year at the Royal Show, and aims to get the county’s rich food heritage known both inside and outside the region. The project was set up by a combination of council and private sector input, with support from individual companies, the National Farmers’ Union and the Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture. As well as promoting the county across the UK, the project was also set up in response to a government drive to ensure UK farming had a sustainable future.
Lincolnshire is a very rural county, with the lowest population density in northern Europe, and agriculture and tourism ranking as its second and third most important industries respectively.
Jill McCarthy is Select’s project manager, working with a small team at Lincolnshire County Council. “Tastes of Lincolnshire creates a buzz around local food for visitors and tourists coming in to the county, but we really felt there was a need to promote our produce outside as well,” she says. “That is why we set up Select - to showcase our fresh produce, meat, dairy, eggs and other foods outside the county, as well as ensure that farming in our region has a sustainable future.
“It is a big county, but we have exceeded expectations in the first year in terms of numbers, and have seen a 100 per cent increase in adopters of the brand over the last six months,” says McCarthy. “Membership of the scheme now stands at 53, up from 14 when we set out last year, and includes both large- and small-scale businesses. Word is getting out there within the county, and we now want to work on pushing this outside too. We have organised a very strong marketing campaign and an active PR approach, with adverts and roadshow events both inside and outside the county.”
Select Lincolnshire and its affiliates have come together on several occasions around the UK now, most noticeably at the Royal Show two years running and with a stand at IFE this spring in London. “At the Royal Show 2007, we incorporated Tastes of Lincolnshire, Select Lincolnshire and Invest Lincolnshire, another council project aimed at encouraging investment into the county, on the one stand, and took along local producers and local products to showcase our offer,” says McCarthy.
Select has also been backed up by a local radio campaign, which extended from the county boundaries into east and south Yorkshire and north Cambridgeshire. “We have a variety of tools within our campaign. We spoke to a lot of people at IFE in London in the spring who really got a sense of what we were about, and the biggest difference we noticed there was that it was not us approaching the retailers, as it was previously, but it was rather a case of them coming to us. We have worked tirelessly on this business liaison and networking approach, and over the last nine months have seen a shift in attitude towards us,” explains McCarthy.
Celebrity chef Rachel Green is the champion of Select, devising recipes for companies involved with the scheme, such as celeriac and chicory specialist Jack Buck Growers, and accompanying the council team to exhibitions both inside and outside Lincolnshire.
“The council is very good at linking all the different project elements of the county brand - Invest, Select, Tastes - and the team also gets on really well, which was very apparent at the Royal Show,” she tells FPJ. “I really have to praise Lincolnshire County Council for fitting all the projects together in such a unique way.
“People will travel to a region if they know they are going to get good food here, but this is a double-sided project - as well as drawing people to the county, we would also like to take the brand outside, and help people up and down the UK recognise what food and rural businesses Lincolnshire has to offer. The expansion so far has been incredible,” she adds.
Mark Tinsley, chairman of the Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture and owner of vegetable and potato grower PC Tinsley Ltd, based in south Lincolnshire near Holbeach, in the county’s flatlands, says: “I am extraordinarily keen in terms of promoting the county, and would encourage as many producers as possible to unite behind the Lincolnshire banner. Select was designed to spark recognition in the end consumer, and the idea is that we adopted the same background, font and typeface across all the council projects to create a single, basic message about the Lincolnshire brand to enter the consumer psyche.”
There are two elements to the campaign, explains Tinsley. “First of all, it is available to firms based in Lincolnshire, producing food here, both for use on their notepaper, lorries and also their food packaging. Secondly, it is also open to companies based here that are not necessarily growing food, but still want to use the logo on their vans.” At least two-thirds of the food inside a branded pack must be made in the county to qualify for usage of the logo and not mislead the consumer, says Tinsley. “It comes back to what the consumer believes is credible. We have done our own consumer survey and recognition is rising rapidly, helped by the fact that shoppers today are already interested in provenance, so we are on to a winner. Consumers should want to know where their food is from, and retailers are increasingly going along that line. We have got to persuade them there is a benefit in using one, united logo for Lincolnshire, rather than their own individual one for each county.”
Indeed, attracting the attention of the major multiples, who by all accounts are the toughest sector of the grocery market to break, is no mean feat, but the project has made significant inroads into the market. “There has been a lot of support from the retailers so far, but we have yet to see the brand present in the major multiples in a significant way, and that will take time. They need confidence in our brand; they need to see it is growing and is being backed by enough producers, and that it is of long-lasting importance,” says Tinsley.
“Select is much more than just a logo - it also represents a selection of advantages for the consumer, such as the infrastructure, climate and land of our county. This is a pretty powerful region with a diverse production. We have beneficial mineral soils, which are good for the flavour and storage of produce - Lincolnshire potatoes, for example, used to have a massive presence on the wholesale scene, but that died away as own brands became the norm. There are a lot of benefits to Lincolnshire produce, but these have been lost behind the retailers’ own labels, and I don’t think that is what the consumer wants anymore. It would be enormously beneficial if the retailers can take Select forward. We have in-store promotions at Asda on the go and tacit support from Tesco, and that is important,” Tinsley adds.
Select Lincolnshire is a useful point of reference for Ideal Lincs, according to manager Paul Davey, whose business acts as a supply hub for local producers looking to send lines into Asda. “There is a long way to go before consumers identify Select as a regional brand, but we are looking to do more work on this with Asda’s local sourcing team,” he tells FPJ. “Of course, it will be a matter of time before it hits retail shelves, and it is important that we get it right in that context and do not misjudge the local consumer.”
McCarthy adds: “The retailers are a major market that we cannot ignore - we have to work with them, especially now they have changed their attitudes to regional produce. However, they are not the only market, as not all of our users want to take the supermarket route.”
Select covers a huge range of locally produced goods - even Christmas trees - and the fact that the brand has been prepared to embrace a significant selection of lines, not just fresh produce, opens up a lot of opportunities, according to Davey. Ideal Lincs is re-branding all its wholesale-destined produce this season, combining its South Humberside Onion brand with the Select Lincolnshire logo. The firm has also hired a sign writer to incorporate the Select logo on to its vehicles, and clearly displays the message on its website.
“Brand development is the hardest game in the marketing business, and just getting it recognised by the public is important. I applaud the council for giving it a go, not just with Select but also with Invest, Visit Lincolnshire, Tastes etc, trying to rid people of their preconceptions about the county. I am so far satisfied with what Select has done given their resources. The team represented us well at IFE, and it was council money well spent,” says Davey.
So what next for a project that has, by all accounts, achieved a remarkable amount in its brief history?
“I think the future of the project will be dependent on the direction the council takes,” says Davey. “I would like to see more producers in the county use the branding and assist the Select Lincolnshire team in building awareness. It’s a very effective way of showing the consumer what the county has to offer, and it can make a positive contribution to the local economy. But it is vital that the brand is not undermined by rogue producers. I just hope that neither the council nor the members loses faith in what Select can achieve.”
“We have a good base now and don’t want to grow too quickly,” says McCarthy. “It’s about getting the businesses already involved to help each other. I know it’s a cliché, but we are not going to rest on our laurels. We have a long way to go, but the last nine months have been very positive. Ideally, I would like membership to reach the 200 mark by the early part of 2009. The council has planned the initiative to be a long-term bid to create a sustainable future for the county. This not a flash-in-the-pan idea.”
Green says: “I would like to get more involved with the project, which needs to boost its presence at events outside the county more. This is by no means a short-term project - it is ongoing and has a great future ahead of it.”
Select Lincolnshire will be touring the county doing more recruitment roadshows, and will also boost its PR campaign and presence at external exhibitions. “We will continue in the same vein, but as consumers become more aware of Select, we will conduct more consumer research into how they perceive the brand,” says McCarthy.
The Royal Show was instrumental in upping consumer awareness of the brand, she says, along with the radio campaign. “People who read trade magazines are also consumers, of course, and in the next six months we would like to consolidate the Select brand into food magazines,” says McCarthy. “The companies using the banner have been very supportive so far in supplying produce for the shows etc, and there are a number of logistics companies in the county that may not actually market Lincolnshire product, but do place the brand on their lorries, so support has been rounded from all associated industries.
“We have even made international progress, with Davis (Louth) exporting Lincolnshire produce to parts of Europe. Our plan was always on a regional and national basis, but if we can make inroads internationally then so much the better; it can only be of benefit to the project and the county. It is fantastic that Davis is pushing the brand into Europe.”
And Tinsley adds: “Ultimately, I want to see our brand out there, backed up by high-quality produce, all over the country. Select is building steadily; we will get there because it is good, and it is right. As long as the project is unfailingly supported by high-quality produce, it has a great future ahead of it.”
JACK BUCK’S THE TREND FOR SPECIALIST PRODUCE
Jack Buck Growers, part of the Fresca group, has been involved with Select Lincolnshire since its inception, according to marketing controller Simon Howard. “It seems important to get behind anything that is a local initiative, as it can raise both the image of the county and also our own profile,” he explains.
Jack Buck is a chicory, celeriac and fennel specialist, sourcing the majority of its produce from Jack Buck Farms and other growers within a five-mile radius, including Mark Tinsley’s firm, PC Tinsley Ltd.
“We market speciality produce, as well as growing chicory on site, and have got to have flair and drive behind us,” says Howard. “There is potential for us to use the Select Lincolnshire logo in conjunction with some of our retail customers, such as Tesco and Asda, but the options are numerous and there is a lot of work to be done yet.”
Jack Buck utilises the Select Lincolnshire logo on its lorries and vans, and has also incorporated the signage onto the box end for its celeriac brand, The Ugly One. “Some 75 per cent of our celeriac is grown in Lincolnshire, but some comes from Yorkshire and Norfolk, so we make sure we only use the Select brand on the appropriate box, and tie it in with the Red Tractor logo,” says Howard. “This goes to all the UK’s wholesale markets, so the brand is being seen all over the country.”
Some businesses are resistant to change, says Howard, and the fact the project is being funded by the county council may be dissuading some potential suppliers from signing up. “Granted, it is harder work for smaller farmers to start incorporating the brand, but the backing of larger growers like ourselves can help push Select Lincolnshire out to a wide selection of people,” he says.
According to Tony Ruigrok, general manager of Jack Buck, the backing of the council is a vital lifeline for the project. “Ten to 12 years ago, a group of like-minded people in Lincolnshire got together to form Lincolnshire County Foods, which eventually became Middle England Fine Foods, to do something similar, but it fizzled out. But now that we have backing from a higher level, the supermarkets like it more, and the trend for local sourcing means we are now on to a winner with them.
“I think wholesalers are now aware of it and greengrocers will see it too, although I don’t think there will be much feedback from the wholesale sector. Chefs and catering companies do notice the brand,” he says.
Jack Buck has received feedback from its website affiliation to Select, as well as from other marketing initiatives, to assess the brand’s impact. “If every business using Select co-ordinates similar direct marketing campaigns, we can really target the foodie market,” says Howard. “It is up to the retailers if they want the brand to be used purely locally, as a local provenance initiative, or if they would roll it out nationwide.”
Ruigrok explains: “Select can only move at a certain pace. I was initially frustrated with this, but now see the benefits of a gradual progression, and there have been a lot of positive changes for the brand in the last year. At Jack Buck we are contracted to take local produce, and we have an impact with local farmers and can therefore act as a platform for Select.
“We can actively encourage local growers to supply us, maybe even under the condition they should use the Select brand. We can all draw strength from each other, especially by using the online forum on the Select Lincolnshire website to work collaboratively,” Ruigrok adds.
ONLY THE BEST SELECT-ED FOR OVERSEAS
Importer-exporter Davis (Louth) exports Lincolnshire produce under the Select brand to the Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark, France, Finland and Sweden, and has secured a deal with Tesco Hungary to supply Select Lincolnshire-branded lines into store. “Only top-quality, Class I goods are destined for export under this brand,” says managing director Peter Davis. “There has been no export this season because of the weather, however, which has not produced the right quality.
“As a company, we feel that Select Lincolnshire is very much the future. If a farmer or grower wants to survive, they can no longer rely on the supermarkets alone. Therefore, as a responsible grower with commitments to Lincolnshire, our employees and the environment, we have got to push export. Lincolnshire as a county has been forgotten for far too long, and I am really in favour of getting our county back on the map,” Davis adds.
ASDA BE IDEAL LINCS FOR LOCAL SOURCING
Ideal Lincs, a specialist in onion and Maris Piper potato production, is based in the wolds, in the north of the county.
“My father started growing onions in 1975, on farms based between Brigg and Grimsby,” general manager Paul Davey tells FPJ. “We were also one of the first to grow potatoes in the wolds. I actually traced our family’s farming roots back to 1752, so it really is a generational business for us.”
Davey, who graduated with a food marketing degree in 1992, decided he wanted to take his father’s farm business in a different direction and “inject it with some entrepreneurialism,” he says. “My father was not averse to taking the van out and drumming up new wholesale and greengrocer customers. As a child, I was very aware that you have to take produce directly to the clients. There is a lot of capital tied up in vegetable production, and unless you’re getting a frank and honest opinion from your primary customers, you may not be getting the right answer.”
Ideal Lincs became an Asda hub a year ago, in response to a disastrous 2004 onion harvest that left the firm wondering where it stood with its more traditional customers.
“I think that year will stick in all our memories,” says Davey. “We set about trying to sell onions out of a van to shift stock, and subsequently discovered that a lot of local outlets were regular purchasers of imported product, ahead of our own. We could not maintain relationships with local wholesalers who refused to use our product, and in fact seemed happier to bring it in from another country, which we found extraordinary. The reality is that wholesalers at a local level have their own margins, so now we only work with those who are prepared to handle local produce.
“But after that we found ourselves getting into a totally different business and market. One day I was at an Asda ‘meet a buyer’ event, which I tended to use merely as a way of meeting new suppliers. However, I got talking to Asda’s local sourcing team, who were on the lookout for a hub in Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. We explored the concept, which fitted in with our plans, but required further investment into software and logistics. In August 2006 we made our first deliveries into Asda stores, and now have 180 different product lines across 10 different store departments.”
Along with potatoes and onions, Ideal Lincs now supplies a whole host of products, from cakes and mineral water to beer, meat, pickles, curry pastes, rapeseed oil, chutneys, soft drinks and ice cream, and has around 80 new lines going into Lincolnshire and East Riding Asda stores this September.
“It’s only the thin end of the wedge, but Asda’s interest in local produce is increasing,” says Davey. “We want to expand the local range for our suppliers, who may have eight or nine lines to offer to Asda, but just can’t get the space at the minute.
“We offer a very tight, just-in-time solution for the retailer, although one thing letting down Lincolnshire is its road network. The government has failed to invest sufficient funds into our road system, and as a result it is ill suited to the movement of heavy goods vehicles, which is a hindrance to the region’s agricultural industry.
“But we have large ambitions for local goods, especially in the fresh produce category, and are seeking ideas for fresh, seasonal produce, straight to the store. We are looking at opportunities for leeks, mushrooms, salad potatoes, iceberg lettuce and organic bunched carrots. We would certainly be very interested to hear from other Lincolnshire or East Riding producers who would like to supply Asda with seasonal lines using our very direct, short route to market.
“It has been very tough to make profits in agriculture over the last decade. I hope this hub can provide a sustainable service for farmers wanting to take produce to retail shelves. We can assist growers who have ideas for value-added products, and working directly with the retailers gives us a significant insight into how they want their produce to be presented. Farmers now have to think very much about the end consumer,” says Davey.
There has always been a drift of European and overseas people into Lincolnshire, and that certainly impacts on local tastes, believes Davey. “We can’t take our eye off the ball, as there are always new people determining what products will be popular at local level. The definition of local has changed significantly in the last decade, but from our point of view it has to be something which contributes to the local economy and benefits its citizens. It is very easy to be pedantic about local produce, but restrictions could fast preclude professional growers from a very important market.”
FAMILY DAY OUT AT UNCLE HENRY’S
Farm shop Uncle Henry’s was set up by Meryl and Steve Ward with the aim of showcasing as much of their farm’s, and as much of Lincolnshire’s, produce as possible. “Producers in Lincolnshire were spread out and did not really have the confidence to market their produce. The council projects have actually started to make a real difference, however, and things are suddenly snowballing. Select is a fantastic showcase for our county’s wonderful produce,” Meryl tells FPJ.
“Membership has boomed in the last six months. Farmers in this area have not been renowned for their marketing skills, and now they have realised what a tremendous opportunity Select represents.”
The Wards have found it relatively easy to find producers who wanted to supply Uncle Henry’s with local produce. “Anybody with get up and go can do it - you just have to set your stall out properly and do the job well,” says Meryl.
Uncle Henry’s is just one of a network of farm shops across the county, each with its own style and speciality, offering a whole one-stop shopping experience under one roof. The shop features a café, selling food customers can then buy in the store, and also offers farm walks for youngsters to visit the on-site pigs, who provide all the bacon, ham and sausages sold in store. Steve Ward has also recently planted four acres of vegetables on the farm for sale in the shop.
“People come here wanting a day out, and that’s what they get,” adds Meryl.
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