DELI OF THE MONTH It would not be fair to judge a farm shop’s new manager after only six weeks in the job, but the raft of small but impactful changes brought in by the new man at the helm of Cornish-focused store Tre, Pol & Pen – and his new team – has been winning over staff, suppliers and customers – and that's no mean feat... Interview by Tom Dale
Kernow calling DESPITE ONLY JOINING the business six weeks before FFD’s visit to Cornish farm shop Tre, Pol & Pen, its operations manager Charlie Furnivall has overseen a raft of changes in all areas of the business, which have so far been pleasing both staff and customers. These changes, Furnivall says, have been bringing the operation back in line with the owner’s original vision for the store, and highlighting the farm-to-fork offer that marks the retailer out. The fledgeling farm shop opened just four years ago, after farmer David Watkins decided to diversify his agricultural business, and the architectural award-winning, sleek premises belies its infancy. Initially managed by Watkins’ daughter
and son-in-law, the business fell into the hands of an internally promoted member of staff after 18 months, and the community driven, Cornish-focused ethos fell by the wayside. The name – borrowed from a phrase in a 17th Century poem which supposedly can be used to describe people from and places in Cornwall – Tre, Pol & Pen means, in Cornish, “homestead, water, and hill”. Fittingly, the site lies nestled on a hill, by an ancient spring on a farm, and reflects the direction in which new manager Furnivall is taking the business. Since it was “relaunched” on 1st October, the farm shop has had its local roots reinvigorated. Cornish art and photography now decorate the walls of the café, a renewed
VITAL STATISTICS
Location: Lezant, Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 9NN Turnover: £1-2m Average basket spend: £25 Floorspace: 300 m3 Gross margin – shop: 35-40% Charlie Furnivall and Leann Read
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November 2021 | Vol.22 Issue 9
focus on Cornish products can be seen in the retail offer – ditching the more mainstream items that crept in during COVID, and increased messaging around the shop now makes more of the farm’s own produce sold on site, including beef from its herd of Ruby Red cattle, lamb, and sheepskin fleeces. The new manager has even had a rustic wooden sign installed outside the entrance pointing out the distance to the two nearest large towns, and then toward the farm with the caption, “OUR HERD 0.1m”. “It’s really important for us to have that USP,” says Furnivall, “and it works on two levels.” “Cornish people are very sentimental about their home county, and we get a lot of tourists as well, so getting that Cornish
