Buckle down to meat sales
Buckle down to meat sales
FED up with the prices your beef and lamb are making in the auction? Well, Kevin and Rachel Buckle were too, so they did something about it and ended up with an award. In little over a year they have built a flourishing business of selling their farm produce, and won runners up prize in NFU North West Entrepreneur of the year for their pains.
With the help of Cumbria Business Link they got a European Objective 5b grant and converted a building suitable for cutting up, storing and vacuum packing their produce. The idea was to sell a product which had been traditionally reared in the Cumbrian hills, and provided great taste and good value to customers.
The meat is sold via advertising in magazines such as BBC Good Food, where they offer a "Value Box" for £80, which contains cuts of beef, lamb and pork and sausages. They also sell at farmers marts around the north of England.
The couple has been surprised at how quickly the business has taken off and they put this down to hard work, the support of the family, who all help out, and a quality product. They are looking forward to developing more outlets through High Street shops and possibly taking on a full-time employee to cope with the demand for Buckles Meat.
Wayne Hutchinson
A cut above the rest…Rachel Buckles business is flourishing in the north-west.