New promotional backing to boost farm shops
Farm shops are being urged to join the Quality Standard Mark (QSM) to access a range of free resources to market their beef and lamb.
Point-of-sale promotional materials, business health checks, sales events, recipe ideas and new product development work are among the benefits to farm shop members of the promotional scheme, under the new banner Farmshoplocal.
There has been a rise in the number of shoppers looking for quality assured produce in the wake of the horse meat scandal and the EBLEX-run scheme has seen a corresponding rise in farm shops wanting to join up.
“The EBLEX Quality Standard Mark scheme can help tell the story of the beef and lamb on sale through our point-of-sale materials and web-based tools and resources,” said Michael Richardson, EBLEX direct sales manager.
“Our range of butchery specifications can help give new ideas about how to get the best from the whole carcase, improve profit potential and keep customers happy.
“More and more farm shops are seeing the benefits of being part of an assurance scheme and all the extra support that comes with it. All this is available for free as part of the EBLEX Quality Standard Mark scheme.”
The abattoir used by the farm shop must be QSM assured. For any farm shop using a non-assured abattoir, a free pre-assurance audit can be undertaken to highlight any areas where work may be needed to achieve required standard.
To find out more, call 0845 491 8787 or visit www.eblex.org.uk/directselling/
