SHOP TALK IF I’D KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW... CHARLIE WALFORD, owner, Upton Bridge Farm Shop, near Langport, Somerset Six years ago, I left a career in recruitment in Singapore to return to the family farm. I soon decided that the sensible approach to making some money from our pedigree beef herd and arable enterprise was to remove as many middlemen as possible. I started selling meat online but courier costs and damage in transit were wiping out any profit. So, I began exploring how to convert a renovated cattle stall into a shop. The pandemic threw a spanner in the works but the shop eventually opened in July 2021. Initially my vision was for a ‘poor man’s’ Fortnum & Mason. Then I realised that would probably turn people off and reinforce the perception that farm shops are expensive. So, I focused on what I like best and started with stocking the ingredients of a full English breakfast. I added wine, beer and cider because I like them too, and cheese because we’re in a good area for it. A local baker supplies fresh bread, sausage rolls, pies and tray-bakes. I had an idea that the meat would be cut in front of customers but, when I realised that butchers are like hens’ teeth, I abandoned that. All our meat is pre-cut, vacuum-packed and displayed in two open-fronted chillers that allow customers to choose their own packs. The downside is they cost a fortune to keep cool in summer. Storing stock in a closed chiller overnight has brought the bills down by £100 a month, and I will switch to glass-fronted chillers as soon as I can. I started the business on a shoestring budget of £15,000. The chillers were secondhand and the one item I splashed out on was the coffee machine. I negotiated an agreement with the supplier to return it if it didn’t pay for itself in two years. Fortunately, it will. I also bought a Pergal milk dispensing machine, which has proved a great way of bringing people into the shop. The hardest challenge has been balancing having fresh stock on shelf against feeding old goats’ cheese and pak choi to the cattle. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why the shop is busy some days and quiet on others. I am forever being asked: “do you have a café?” How we physically expand is a bit of a headache, however, so we may need to look at outdoor dining. My rough business plan is that the set-up costs are paid for within the first year and that ultimately the shop will make enough to cover the children’s school fees. We are only eight months in and so far it is going in the right direction. Interview Lynda Searby Photography Michael Lane
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April 2022 | Vol.23 Issue 3
