Support the independents by stepping out at the Purple Love Week tasting events. Liz Burt, one of the organisers behind the event, tells marmaLADYa.com why
“This is the second year we’ve run Purple Love Week. We launched it last year as a way to bring a bit of happiness to the miserable month of February. February for the food trade is a bleak month as consumers tend to be dealing with their credit card bills and finishing up Christmas leftovers. It can be very difficult for small shops. So we decided to organise a tasting event to help the farm shops, the delis, butchers and bakers.
This year we’ve gone larger. We’ve got a couple of partners – Big Barn, a virtual farmers’ market which is a really useful way to find food producers and independent retailers near where you live; and Speciality Food Magazine. We want to unite hundreds of independent shops in a way they can’t do themselves. Independents tend to be concentrating on the day-to-day running of the business. They don’t really have time to do big events, in the way that supermarkets can.
We help the independent shops with the marketing, getting the local press and other food producers involved and putting on a really nice tasting event for the whole week. This helps them build relationships in their community.
It’s not about lambasting supermarkets. We all shop in supermarkets, let’s be honest. It’s about finding a way of co-existing. The message to the consumer is love your independents, and to spread where you shop. Rather than doing all your grocery shopping in the supermarket, once a month or once a week go into your local butcher or bakery. Build up relationships. That’s the main strength of the independent sector – that when you walk into a shop there are people you can speak to and ask advice from. You can’t beat small shops for personal service. You just don’t get that in supermarkets.
There is enough room for the independents and supermarkets. It’s unrealistic to think there will be a day without supermarkets. A vibrant highstreet full of vibrant independents can co-exist with supermarkets. Ironically supermarkets can bring a lot of value to the highstreet, with parking facilities and the draw they have on bringing people to that area.
The difference with shopping at independents is that you tend to buy what you need, rather than falling for the ‘Buy one, get one free’ offers. There is a lot of hope for the independents. I think there are so many doom-and-gloom news stories that convince people the battle is already over. That’s not the case! We are food producers ourselves, Olive Et Al, and supply more than 800 independent food stores, as well having direct contact with 1000s of consumers.
We have a team of 30 people who work here in Dorset. We make everything using traditional artisan methods. We have a range of about 100 food products, all natural. We don’t use any preservatives or unnecessary chemicals. Next year we plan to build and open a sustainable food mill, to enable young apprentice schemes for traditional food production skills – cheese-making, brewing and bread-making. We are also planning an education facility. We’re not the run-of-the-mill food producer!
With Purple Love Week we are supporting the businesses we supply. Purple Love Week is directly connected to Purple Places, a resource you can use to find independents to shop at, and it’s not just restricted to food either. We’re also involved with an initiative with John Bird, founder of the Big Issue, called the Wedge Card. It’s a loyalty card for independent shops. It’s not a data-gathering card like at the supermarkets. It’s a loyalty card that consumers buy, £20 for a year. Small shops sign up to accept these cards, and there are loads of promotions associated with these cards – not just in food shops, it could be your local electrical shop, the dry cleaner or the coffee shop.”
Visit www.purpleplaces.co.uk and do a postcode search to find out where your nearest tasting event is. And make sure you Declare you Independents with the Purple Love Book.
