It has been a tough few years for the sector but despite this The Food Heroes have seen their business take off. Simon Martin puts this down to hard work and looking after both customers and suppliers.
“Last season was hard as volumes were low and towards the end of the season quality potatoes were hard to find,” said Simon. “We have a group of growers which we supported by taking all of their crop which helped them financially. Some of the potatoes were not pretty but it was the best thing we could have done and ensured stability for growing going forward. it also meant that we could keep the brand going.
“We are nothing without our growers so this year we made sure they were happy too. For some growers we paid for their seed for others we went 50-50. If they have no product, we have no product. Everyone wins – our growers, us and our customers.”
This week saw the start of the new potato season with the Washed Blues, a roasting and chipping potato and Simon is happy to see the start of a new season.
“The early potatoes have been affected by the drought earlier in the year, but we have good rain now and the later potatoes will be good. The yields are a very variable just now, we are only a week into the harvest and some areas are good while others are not so good.”
The potatoes are being harvested in East Anglia where the soil types are versatile and harvest is not being hampered by the rain.
“With our new season potatoes, we dropped the price to our customers by £4-£5 a bag. The price has been so high for the last 6 months and everyone is suffering. We need to help everyone in the chain, ultimately the chef, so that we keep potatoes on the menu.”
For more information:
Simon Martin
The Food Heroes Marketing
Tel : +44 7444 816680
Email: simon@simonthespud.co.uk
thefoodheroes.com