Cotswold Fayre invests in new foodhall and kitchen

Cotswold Fayre announced that it is to become a partner in the new venture, which is based at Glenavon Farm, Saltford, near Bath.

The project will see the current derelict farm buildings and cow sheds overhauled into a purpose-built retail and café space.

As a B Corp, a certification that recognises companies that use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems, Cotswold Fayre has exciting plans for the new venture.

Expected to open in Spring 2021, it will give the company the opportunity to experiment with new fixtures and displays to reduce plastic packaging, as well as the chance to offer customer taste test sessions in an effort to gather feedback on potential new products.

Speaking about the new venture, Paul Hargreaves, chief executive at Cotswold Fayre, said: “The landowner and Bath District Farmers had been planning to open a retail and kitchen outlet for some time.

“I was delighted when approached to become part of the team to turn the idea into a reality, as it wholeheartedly complements our core business.”

Business partner and managing director for the foodhall and kitchen, Paul Castle, added: “I am thrilled to see work start on the exciting new venture. We plan to stock plenty of products supplied by local farmers and producers, and create in the region of 40 local jobs, which is very exciting.”

Paul Hargreaves continued, ”We started planning the new foodhall and kitchen a long time ago so no pandemics were on the horizon then, but we are glad we are launching in 2021 and not within the past eight weeks. Over 21 years I have seen some brilliant examples of great retailing and can’t wait to take the best of these and put them into practice. In addition it will be great to have a retail outlet where we can test potential new products and see if they sell in an independent retail environment before we roll them out to our retail customers.

“We aim for the new venture to be as environmentally and socially responsible as possible in order to fit in with our B Corp ethos. Advances in packaging are moving quickly, so we would hope to be able to be plastic-free at launch. We will also aim to employ a percentage of disadvantaged people from the local community, and enable the farm shop to be an active contributor in benefitting the local community.

“An an example of some of our plans, there will be a generous number of free electric car charging points for customers to use while they are on site, and incentives will also be given to those arriving by bicycle or public transport. Any food waste will be collected by our partners at City Harvest who deliver this to the homeless and other projects, which not only eliminates waste but reduces the carbon footprint of this food going to land-fill. The café and food hall will be carbon neutral using sustainable energy and any carbon generated will be offset, and of course Cotswold Fayre will consolidate supply of much of the chilled and ambient produce thereby reducing carbon in supply chain.”