Breaking bland: How Scots foodies are bucking recession

AS companies everywhere slash costs and cut corners, some Scots foodies are bucking the recession by focusing on quality local communities – and even expanding, writes Lee Randall

Walk down any high street and you’ll be struck by how many recession-walloped businesses, especially independents, have called it a day. But it’s not all doom and gloom out there. I found three food retailers who are not merely surviving, they’re flourishing, and expanding their businesses.

How is that possible in these grim times? In separate talks with the three concerns, some of the same points kept cropping up: they’re all engaged with their surrounding communities, place a high value on customer service and feedback, and believe passionately in what they sell. Their venues are more than shops, they’re destinations, gathering places where people come for the warm welcome and stay for the craic – not to mention good quality food.

EARTHY

Earthy, recently voted Scottish Independent Food Retailer of the Year by the Observer Food Monthly, turns four in May. It was born when horticulturist Pete Jackson met organic farmer Patricia Stephens, and Dirk Douglas, whose background is marketing. In them he found kindred spirits. “Our goal was to bridge that gap between a farmers’ market and a big supermarket. Patricia and Dirk had formed a business plan, come up with the name, and Patricia had her eye on a site on Ratcliffe Terrace in Edinburgh. Over the next few weeks, Earthy was born,” says Jackson.

Each partner stumped up seed money and a private investor supplied the rest. This same investor helped fund their new venue in Portobello – which opened in August – and , this month, Earthy’s lively new Canonmills site. The properties are leased, but the trio has big plans that include on-site gardens, a restaurant, cookery courses, and the introduction of new food ranges.

“What drives me is offering sustainable produce in a community environment, and engaging in customer service,” says Jackson. “We present an array of local, seasonal, organic vegetables and fruit, with traceability. There’s minimal packaging – it’s out of the crate and into the display, with a sign telling you where it’s from. Staff are key. We started with five, and currently employ more than 50 people.” On top of that, there’s the income stream they’re channelling to Scottish farmers, whose produce comes direct from the field to Earthy’s back door.

Staff are there to meet and greet, and also educate customers. “We get them out to the farm and train them on the veg. They work with Patricia at the Farmers’ Market on a Saturday. We’ve got fruit and veg champions who understand the seasons. We have to be 100 per cent confident that every product on our shelves has been tested. One comment we hear a lot is, ‘We love coming to Earthy – there’s chat and banter, and when we cook with the produce, it tastes amazing.’” Bestsellers, he says, are “anything fresh – bread, fruit, vegetables.”

One goal of Earthy’s expansion is staying competitive. “I can get a better price on six boxes of organic aubergines than on one, and pass that saving on to consumers. We can tell producers, ‘We’ve got three sites; we need to do a bit of value and a bit of quantity and we are going to guarantee you this much income each month.’”

So how are they thriving in dire economic times? If anything, says Jackson, the recession’s helped. “People aren’t spending as much in restaurants. They’re cooking at home, guys are getting more into food, and on the telly, shows such as MasterChef are raising awareness.

“We’ve built our business through customer loyalty, listening to people, and developing the Earthy brand. The last three years have been damn hard work, but it’s been a great journey. I think the Canonmills site will make the business safe. It’s three concepts in one: shop, deli counter, and a restaurant, where we’ll do all the hard work while you enjoy what Earthy’s about. Our mission is to become Scotland’s best-loved ethical retailer.”

• Earthy’s locations are: 33-41 Ratcliffe Terrace; 19 Windsor Place, Portobello; and 1-6 Canonmills Bridge. For more information, visit: www.earthy.co.uk

VICTOR HUGO

How many other shops on the South Side have been continuously trading since 1940?” asks Alan Thomson, only the fifth owner of the Victor Hugo Deli in 72 years. The Edinburgh native, whose grandfather opened Oldham’s Deli in Abbeyhill in 1936, always yearned to get into the food business, even while working in the gas industry and, later, as a property developer. That career has given him the financial wherewithal to see his dream to fruition. He bought Victor Hugo, a deli on the south side of The Meadows in Edinburgh, in 2008, and next week opens a second branch in Portobello. Soon there will also be a café at Summerhall, the site of the old Dick Veterinary School on the eastern corner of The Meadows, which continues to develop into a lively centre for the arts.

The deli has a terrific pedigree, he says. “People have come here for 72 years. Although it’s named Victor Hugo, and was opened by a French couple, it was bought by a Polish couple in 1942, so it was well known among the Polish community even before the current influx of immigrants.

“But going to the banks and asking for money to expand a business which they effectively see as a coffee shop – because they have limited categories – it’s a no. They’re not interested. They won’t give you overdrafts or any special rates. I’ve had to finance it myself.”

Since taking over, Thomson has started a Friday night supper club, featuring themed menus. He’s expanded outdoor seating and refreshed the awnings.

“All without changing it too much, because people don’t like change. At the new venue, 127-129 Portobello High Street, there’s an industrial kitchen and a fantastic outdoor space, so I’m looking to do the supper club there, plus a restaurant theme on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. There’s huge potential.”

Roughly 30 per cent of the trade at Melville Terrace comes from people working at or visiting the Sick Kids Hospital. A steady influx of “yummy mummies” passes through, thanks to the proximity of Sciennes Primary.

“We can sell 750 coffees a day, easily, on a quiet day. At the weekend more than 1000 coffees a day are going out the door. And Union Coffee is by far the best. It’s expensive, but we keep the prices at a level to draw people in. People come from as far away as Fife and Dunbar to buy our rye breads – we sell five kinds.”

Not only is Thomson on a first-name basis with most of the locals – including this writer – but he’s always engaging with customers, offering tastings to get feedback about new products, or setting up a barbecue when local schools have sports days. His is a loyal clientèle, some of whom stop in several times a day. Many are returning customers who gave the deli a wide berth when its last, notoriously confrontational, owner was in charge. As Peter Irvine wrote in the latest edition of Scotland the Best, “Victor Hugo Deli is back on form.”

Thomson says: “I get involved with the community because they’re the people who support us. Doing things like writing to the councillors to make sure we get the railings painted and the road smoothed out on Melville Terrace are important. We’ll be the same at Portobello. I’ll go meet the headmaster of the new school and see what we can do for the community there.”

Asked why he’s expanding during a recession, he quotes James Caan, from Dragons’ Den: “He says, ‘Where the masses go – go in the opposite direction.’ This was a leasehold property in Portobello that had been running as a successful delicatessen up until the end of the year. The deal I was offered was too good to pass by. There’s a great vibe in Portobello right now, and the footfall is massive. When rumours leaked on the Talk Porty website that we were coming, our Twitter account gained 565 followers within three days! The landlord there is a huge foodie, and said, ‘Everybody’s excited about you coming down, because so many were students in Marchmont and remember Victor Hugo’.”

• Victor Hugo Deli is at 26/27 Melville Terrace, Edinburgh, and now also at 127-129 Portobello High Street. For more information, visit the website at: www.victorhugodeli.com

LOCH ARTHUR COMMUNITY

Loch Arthur Community was established in 1984, when Camphill Village Trust, a registered charity with 11 communities around the UK, bought the 500 acre estate in Dumfries & Galloway. Late in 1985 they began turning surplus milk into cheeses and butter and, with the arrival of Barry Graham in 1986, this became a proper – and successful – undertaking. By the early 1990s Loch Arthur cheeses were winning awards.

Graham says: “In the context of what we do here, providing meaningful work for people with learning disabilities, the creamery’s been very successful, because of its routine, its regularity, and the demands it makes on people. To really uphold their dignity of work, the job must be done well.”

They set up their purpose-built creamery to ensure that the “cow to customer” chain was short and direct. A viewing area allows visitors to see the cheese being made. They also sold beef, lamb and pork from animals raised on their 100 per cent organic farm.

But in 2001, their entire population of 400 animals – despite being healthy – was culled in the foot and mouth purge. It was a terrible blow, and while they slowly regrouped, Graham decided it was worth focusing more on the farm shop. “Something turned at that moment. We really pulled together the meat, we have a bakery, and with the cheese and dairy products, had the makings of a wonderful shop.”

Though business is booming throughout the UK’s farm shop sector, people were sceptical. “They said there’s not the economy or the population here to support a farm shop, but it’s going in leaps and bounds. We have expanded it every year for the past ten years. A year ago another farm shop opened not ten minutes away. They’re doing well, but we’ve not lost one customer. Where are they coming from? They’re defecting from the supermarkets. We are catering for people willing to spend a little bit more, but our prices are moderate. Our fruit and vegetables compare in price with organic fare at supermarkets, and our meats are cheaper than their organic ranges. Customers realise we have really good food, service, and knowledge. The pleasure of the experience adds up to deciding those few extra pounds are worth it.”

In 2005, largely in response to customer demand, they pledged to an expanded farm shop and café. “People said they loved visiting, but it would be so much nicer if they could stop and have coffee or a soup. Farm shops are places you make an effort to go to, and there’s a social aspect. We started building a year ago, and open in September. It’s being paid for with a mixture of money from the Camphill Village Trust, reinvestment of our surplus, and a Scottish Rural Development Programme grant of about £400,000. We’re not going into this in debt.”

Their big new kitchen will supply the café, do all the baking, and make things for the shop, such as their popular chutneys. The shop will have craft and social spaces. But, says Graham emphatically, “We are not going to hinge it on attractions, such as a petting zoo. We are not selling knick-knacks. We are a purist food shop. We believe we are supplying something quite valuable to residents of this area who are seeing quality organic food of provenance. We do have the slight luxury that we can do things without a bank breathing down our neck, though it comes with a responsibility towards the people we’re working and living with here. But we’ve stuck to our principles and we are thriving.”

• The Loch Arthur Creamery and Farmshop is in Beeswing, Dumfries. For more information visit www.lockarthur.org.uk.