A farm shop owner who pioneered a ‘50 Food Miles’ logo believes the supermarkets will struggle to ever implement significant local sourcing strategies.
Georgina Mason, of Gonalston Farm Shop in Nottinghamshire, doubts the major retailers could ever have the logistical base to provide large quantities of locally sourced food.
Mason, who was a guest speaker at the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) summit last week, applies the shop’s environment-minded 50 Food Miles logo to a number of lines including strawberries and asparagus.
Mason told freshinfo: “We were doing it before all the major supermarkets decided it was a good idea but their problem is they will never have the logistics to cope with sourcing such a large quantity of products locally.
“It would be extremely difficult for them to offer that hand to mouth, freshly picked to consumer offer that has been a real hit for us.”
The Gonalston outlet, whose fresh produce sales accounts for 15 per cent of turnover, is aiming for the premium market but has not suffered in the recession.
“We haven’t dropped in customer numbers at all but it is vital that we have some offers and customers take advantage of our loyalty card scheme. We are pressuring suppliers as our profits have certainly reduced but our costs have actually gone up,” said Mason.
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