A rant that I’ve been putting off for years. Sometimes, it feels as though we’re on a hiding to nothing.
It came to a head when I was collared in the car park by a slightly disgruntled flower grower. We’d stopped buying from her because the general feeling was that her flowers were too expensive and, being positioned right by the entrance, gave shoppers a negative impression before they’d even made it through the front door. She countered by saying that she was trying to establish a true market price for English-grown flowers and that it wasn’t fair to expect her to compete with ‘lifestyle hobby’ gardeners. I’m not sure whether our other growers would thank her for that description, but I confess that none of them is entirely dependent on flower growing for a living. That shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of knowledge or commitment, though. They spend a great deal of time researching varieties, refining their methods and learning what works in our particular climate – like any serious gardener. Maybe it’s simply a field better suited to part-timers and, judging by sales, you seem very happy with what they offer.
A year ago, I had a similar discussion with one of our salad-pack growers, who accused Riverford Organics of trying to put him out of business by selling to us at an unrealistically low price. Somehow, I can’t see them doing that and can’t help thinking that the price difference might have something to do with economies of scale and efficiency. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Riverford is one of the few organic growers not subsidised by other income streams. Right now, I’m in conversation with a local, one-man organic charcuterie start-up whose products will all cost more than £100 a kilo. That’s nothing compared with the £30-a-kilo granola – ours is £7.50 – from another local start-up.
It’s a tricky one. Start-ups are a vital part of a vibrant local economy and, obviously, we’d like to support them as much as possible – particularly when they’re doing something genuinely different and adding to the range. At the same time, however, we need to keep pricing in the shops realistic. I’m more than aware that many people already see us as expensive, although I would contend that, across a basket of goods and taking everything into account, we offer good value for money. I’m really not sure I could make the same claim if we weren’t fairly careful – and occasionally brutal – when it comes to start-ups and slightly lifestyle-driven businesses with an inflated opinion of the value of their products. Small-scale food production is expensive, but there are also savings to be made in overheads, management structures and so on, although increased regulation is making these harder and harder to find. My main bugbear is that, as sales increase, businesses should be able to invest, improve efficiency and bring their prices down. Rarely does that happen.