Carving out niche for heritage crops
Sean Williams of Westcountry Fruit Sales put on a display of vegetables and other produce from West Cornwall at the recent Expowest, the South West’s major food and catering show at the Royal Cornwall Showground near Wadebridge.
The Williams family have always been growers of fruit, vegetables and flowers in the Falmouth area of West Cornwall for more than 200 years. Britain’s entry into what was then the Common Market in the 1970s hit the business and Sean left for a time, returning in 1998. In the late 1990s and early years of the 21st century, he saw there was an opening for a change of direction.
The market was demanding more exciting and sophisticated produce, but with the traditional heritage intact. He obtained Objective 5B funding from the EU, which enabled him and his fellow growers to produce a variety of different vegetables including mushrooms, asparagus, cucumbers and tomatoes.
The focus was then on sourcing locally produced small-scale heritage crops. “There is tremendous high risk in growing organic, experimental and innovative crops,” explained Sean. “I could not find small-scale growers prepared to take the financial risk of growing this specialised produce, due to the fact that they might fail.”
Having worked closely with Peter Lawrence of Lizard Leaves, a grower and producer of exotic salad leaves and other green vegetables at the organic Canara Farm at Mylor, Sean thought collaboration was the way ahead. “I said to Peter, we will put in the investment required at Canara Farm, if you will bring your expertise to the growing of what the market is evidently now crying out for,” Sean said.
Together they grow the types of vegetables that other producers have often found uneconomic to produce in small quantities, for a market that they have carved out.
Sean said: “Your average supermarket-type vegetable is grown on a massive scale, using intensive modern systems, hydroponics and sprays, so as to produce large volumes at cheap prices. Our produce is all about taste and flavour and is produced in a traditional manner, even rooted in local organic manure and seaweed.”
The business now employs 130 people, with an annual turnover of £15 million with distribution centres at Falmouth, St Austell and Newton Abbot. The business serves around 1,500 customers split between 70% in the catering industry and 30% shops in Cornwall and Devon.
Source: westernmorningnews.co.uk
