CONFETTI, HOPSTYLE
CONFETTI, HOPSTYLE
Confetti, a material that over
the years has been the bane
of bishops and a pest to
priests, has at last become
churchyard friendly – and
its all down to the humble
hop. Mike Charity reports
AS farmer Mike Robinson and his wife Felicity worked in the hop kilns on their Munsley Court Farm, Ledbury, during last seasons harvest, Mrs Robinson exclaimed that the hop leaves sticking to her clothes made her feel she had been to a wedding.
That passing comment was overheard by businessman Mark Berry, who lives in the old stables at the farm, and planted the seed of an idea in his head, which has now been developed into a unique product – natural hop confetti.
Now his cottage-industry production line, coupled with the pungent aroma of hops wafting throughout his home, is in full flow as he and his partner, Anne Marie, work round the clock to meet the demand.
After initial prototype testing at a Hereford wedding, when Herefordshire Tourist Board marketing manager Kate Tudge defied a church ban on the use of confetti and satisfied the local vicar as to its biodegradable qualities, Mark started production in earnest at the beginning of the year.
His first order came from the tourist office in Ledbury and now all four of the centres, including Ross, Leominster and Hereford have the confetti on their shelves. Enquiries are also now coming in from the US, Jersey and florists throughout the country via his web-site (www.hopmania.com).
"Many vicars have banned the use of paper confetti because of the mess it leaves around the churchyard, which is understandable and hard rice confetti has never really taken off," says Mark. "Now with hop confetti, which is a natural substance, there is no reason for its use to be refused. Judging by the enquiries coming in, I think we have found another niche market for the Herefordshire hop."
Mike, who runs the 140ha (347-acre) Munsley Court Farm which has been in his family for four generations, supplies Mark with his raw material and is understandably delighted with the way in which the novel confetti has taken off.
"Hops have been affected by cheaper imports, specially from the US so this alternative outlet, albeit small at the moment, provides us with another string to our bow during these difficult times," says Mike.
"The majority of our hop production goes to the brewery industry to flavour the beer and most people think this is the only market. But the hop is a unique plant and throughout the centuries its performed many functions. In early Egypt the wild hop plant was used as medicinal herb and hop bitters taken as a tea is wonderful for digestive problems.
"In Europe it has long been considered a curative for liver disorders and current research in America is looking into other medical fields where this underrated plant could be of great value."
Where will it all end? Already there are hop shampoos, biscuits, pillows and teas. Now the hop has come up trumps again in a development that is guaranteed to stop vicars going hopping mad.
Hip hop… hop confetti could become all the
rage at weddings.