Pembrokeshire Early potatoes have hit Marks & Spencer shelves.
Puffin Produce has teamed with M&S potato supplier Manor Fresh to launch its produce in M&S stores.
Puffin will supply branches throughout Wales with one kilo bags of the spuds carrying the M&S own label.
The potatoes are grown exclusively on the Pembrokeshire coast, where the Gulf Stream creates warmer than average temperatures and a knock-on early harvest.
State of the art hydro-technology recently installed at Puffin Produce has shortened the supply chain and enhanced the product’s freshness: potatoes that come in from the field at around 14º-15ºC are cooled in chilled spring water, and ready to pack within ten minutes.
Puffin MD Huw Thomas said: “[Our] team is delighted that Pembrokeshire Earlies have made the famously high quality grade at Marks & Spencer. Even better, we’re able to meet their demanding standards while working on a sustainable and ethical basis with Welsh farmers and farmland.”
Steadily growing demand among Welsh shoppers for genuinely regional produce has also helped Puffin Produce to expand its distribution throughout Wales over the past year. The company has applied for European Protected Food Name Status for Pembrokeshire Earlies, an accolade granted only to Europe’s finest foods and wines.
The opportunity to supply M&S was identified in collaboration with Cywain, the Welsh Assembly-funded scheme that helps primary producers to add value.
Puffin Produce is 51 per cent owned by a farmer co-operative with 18 farmer shareholder growers based in Pembrokeshire and two programmed growers in the Wye Valley. The remaining 49 per cent is owned by Lifecrown Investments Ltd which also owns Fenmarc Produce Ltd. Puffin Produce is proud to work sustainably with Welsh farmers and farmland.
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