FW Awards 2011: Local Food Farmer of the Year finalists – Debbie and Andrew Booth
Customers of The Store in Aberdeenshire come away not only with fine beef, lamb and a host of other great local produce, but also with a deeper understanding of the farming industry that provides them. “We like to think that each morning we open The Store shop door, we also open our farm gate,” says Andrew. His drive and enthusiasm are clear but he says his feet are kept firmly on the ground by his wife Debbie, who is an accountant. From a small start in a granite bothy 11 years ago, this business now includes a butchery cutting room and a kitchen producing a ready meal menu of 30 to 40 regular items, plus many seasonal and other items. Retail customers include Waitrose, and just over a year ago, a coffee shop was added. Andrew and Debbie bought Westfield, which is 100ha, in 1999. “We needed to do something with high value on that acreage, otherwise with barley prices at £70/t, we were taking on more risk for less reward,” says Andrew. The holding neighbours Savock, farmed by Andrew’s parents Pat and George and which is the base for arable production, contracting and beef and lamb finishing. Debbie and Andrew consider that they have added value rather than diversified with The Store, which pays their farm a commercial rent. Profits from The Store are reinvested and generally represent about 5% of turnover, with the exception of last year when there was a small loss. Profit for the current year is expected to be 8% of turnover. The ring of the till measures success in this business, where weekly and monthly targets are set and performance closely monitored. Average customer spend is almost £20. A second shop was opened in 2005 in Edinburgh but the recession and the siting of a new Waitrose store within 200 yards saw turnover drop by £200,000. The Edinburgh shop was reluctantly closed in 2009, with valuable but tough lessons learned. A mystery shopper scheme is used and Andrew’s mother Pat continually challenges the kitchen with an apparently limitless supply of new recipes for ready meals and the coffee shop. Westfield is a LEAF farm, where all food and butchery waste is recycled and returned to the land. “Give the customer what they want and employ the right people” is a maxim applied on farm and in the shop. Induction of new employees includes time spent on the farm and in the butchery to equip them with enough knowledge to address customer queries. Andrew’s energetic promotion of the business has already netted The Store a clutch of awards and secured television appearances including a visit from travelling chefs The Hairy Bikers. He also uses farmers’ markets to spread the brand name and enthusiastically embraces social media such as Twitter and Facebook to promote the business. No opportunity is lost – school visits, gourmet BBQs, cake decorating, shows and open days help to build a loyal community of customers. Most ambitious of these was “harvest nearly home day” a year ago, when almost 500 people paid to see combining, cultivation and drilling on the same day. Andrew drove the combine with the cab repeatedly filled with excited children and equally enthusiastic dads. Plans for the next expansion of The Store are well formed. This will see a larger, integrated butchery, kitchen and shop built on a new site and including viewing, educational and training facilities. The plan is to self fund this by releasing capital from elsewhere in the business. Farm facts What the judges likedAndrew and Debbie Booth, The Store, Newburgh, Ellon, Aberdeenshire