Revealed: the winners of The Great Stock Giveaway

Seven retailers have won thousands of pounds worth of stock as The Great Stock Giveaway, an initiative from Speciality Food and Woolcool, concluded. The giveaway brought some of the best new products in the fine food industry to the shelves of independent retailers across the UK.

Beth McMurray of Three Trees Farm in Swindon, said her team was “so excited” to be announced as one of the winners. “As the owner of a small shop with a lot of demands on your time, it can be easy to fall into the trap of stocking the same products from the same suppliers,” she said. “Winning The Great Stock Giveaway handed us the opportunity to see what is out there, without even leaving the building.”

Dezi Dalton of Rye Deli in Rye, East Sussex, agreed, saying that the “broad and wonderful range of products” received have made their offering “that little more exciting”.

“The dozens of parcels that arrived were full of unusual, top-quality products from ambient to chilled to frozen,” Dezi said. “It has given us an invaluable opportunity to try products that we perhaps wouldn’t have considered, such as WaxWrap or new vegan offerings, chilled drinks, sauces and confectionery.” The new stock has not only refreshed the deli’s shelves, but it has also helped Dezi identify new food and drink that customers are interested in, with some of the new products “flying off the shelves”.

She continued, “We are now more informed of more things that our customers will buy, and going forward we will continue to stock them! Winning this competition gave us a great relaunch opportunity following the recent restrictions.”

Karen Hennessy of The Udder Farm Shop in Dorset agreed that the new stock allowed the business to try products that they normally wouldn’t have. “It is a brilliant way of introducing us to new suppliers. Due to the pandemic we have not been able to meet suppliers or go out and about and discover new ranges for ourselves,” Karen said. “But winning The Great Stock Giveaway has allowed us to offer new lines to our customers we probably would not have selected for whatever reason, be it price, space or ‘not for our customers’. Very interesting, and an eye opener to be a bit more adventurous with our buying!”

Around 80% of the items Delifonseca Dockside in Liverpool received were from producers that the team had not come across. “In the absence of trade shows, the competition was a great idea to introduce retailers to new brands and products,” said proprietor Candice Fonseca. “The sample range also really showcased the current trends, such as low/no alcohol beers and spirits or kombucha.”

As a relatively new shop, Lucy Ponsonby of Yarnton Home & Garden in Oxon said the prize is a “huge opportunity for Yarnton to look at and try a whole range of products we otherwise would not have considered”. Lucy continued, “We love so many of the products in the prize and are still making our way through them. It’s been a great opportunity for us to show and share with staff the foods that we are planning to list, and we will certainly be listing lots of the delights in our farm shop.”

After a challenging year, The Great Stock Giveaway aimed to foster connections between fine food retailers and producers. All chilled products were delivered in Woolcool’s sustainable packaging.

Winners also included Manor Farm Shop & Farmhouse Kitchen in Lutterworth and Black Horse Fulmer in Buckinghamshire.