NPD and Eco News  ________________________________

As the call to reduce meat-consumption and plastic waste becomes critical, field fare expands its pioneering 80-strong, loose-serve range with three new frozen vegetable medleys with an international flavour …

While stockists and customers embrace field fare's trailblazing Bring Your Own Tub initiative …

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12 years to stabilise the planet …

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control's (IPCC) most recent report *, we have until 2030 to prevent catastrophic climate change that would render the planet no longer a “safe operating space for humanity” by 2050. Which requires a massive reduction of food waste, huge changes in farming techniques and a substantial cut in meat consumption to an advised once a week **.

Terrifying, apocalyptic stuff, which a frozen food brand, however premium, can't pretend to solve; but field fare can make more claims to contributing to these critical changes than most …

• field fare's trailblazing loose, scoop-and-serve ranges reduce packaging to asingle, biodegradable bagand allows customers to buy only what they need, reducing food waste. While buying in bulk and freezing in reduces travel and packaging environmental impacts. 
• Freezing is nature's preservative, locking in nutrients, lengthening shelf lives and reducing perished food waste. 
• Frozen food is year round seasonal and cheaper to transport - in bulk, with minimal protective packaging required. Both dramatically reduce food and air miles. 
• field fare continues to work to improve their footprint, promoting a nationwide initiative amongst their 400+ stockists to enable customers to bring their own containers to refill.

Bring on the veg …

With the call to adopt a flexitarian diet, field fare couldn't make the switch simpler,with an international range of vegetarian dishes, pastries and pies in the ready meal range, plus 20 single veg and medley options available in the loose serve format. They range from Tuscan Roasting Veg to Sweet Potato fries to Baby Broad Beans, frozen minutes after picking.Versatile, convenient, innovative, ready-prepped, waste-reducing, fresh frozen direct from the field from known producers … the excuses for not stepping up to the eco-plate are running thin, particularly with the addition of three more international medleys joining the line-up …

Vegetable Biryani … delicately spiced white rice with cauliflower florets, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, red peppers, red onions and spinach leaf. Add a dash of curry paste, a scattering of coriander (and ideally a Kingfisher beer), for an incredibly easy and authentic Indian classic in minutes.

Wholesale:     £2.50 /g            |           RRP: £3.99 / kg                        |           POR:37%      

Mediterranean Vegetables… the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, particularly for the heart, are big news, and here's a 'hearty' solution (sorry!). A rustic collection of diced tomatoes, courgettes, aubergine and mixed peppers with sliced onion; ready to be whizzed into soups, slow cooked in casseroles, scattered across pizzas, bubbled into ratatouilles or baked into pies.

Wholesale:     £1.70 /g            |           RRP: £2.79 / kg                        |           POR:39%      

Tender Vegetables & Prawns… a delicious vegetable medley of grilled aubergine, tender asparagus, garlic, diced tomatoes and white onion, with peeled, raw, plump prawns. All the ingredients for a quick and healthy stir-fry, with none of the prepping faff.

Wholesale:     £4.20 /g            |           RRP: £6.89 / kg                        |           POR:39%      

Sources:

*   http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/

** https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/meat-eating-climate-change-vegetarian-vegan-global-warming-diet-farming-a8578251.html

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Bring Your Own Tubs …

Food waste, plastics and unnecessary packaging are big news. The Government's 25 Year Environment Plan announced a new initiative from WRAP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation,* to specifically tackle plastic packaging, with a promise to “achieve zero avoidable plastic waste by the end of 2042”.

At field fare, it has all been big news since 1977, when they first launched their trailblazing loose serve ranges, scooped - in waste reducing precise amounts - into simple, recyclable bags (being replaced by biodegradable ones). And they continue to build on this pioneering legacy of environmentalism with their 2018 campaign to encourage their stockists to go a step further and offer their customers the option to bring their own re-useable containers. Both retailers and customers are responding enthusiastically and, in some cases, extending the initiative to other loose products. But don't take our word for it …

 “[our customers have been] enthusiastically filling everything from ice cream tubs to glass jars with Field Fare's Grade A frozen fruit and veg, baked and fish goods. They simply take their empty container to the till before they fill it and tell us what is going in it. We then weigh it and calculate the price to deduct when it's filled. A straightforward way to start making a real difference.” George Dobson, co-owner Manor Farm Shop, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex

"As a family of farmers, we take the environment particularly seriously at Roots. We are reducing plastics and packaging wherever we can and part of that is our new Bring You Own container campaign …I'm very pleased to see our customers responding so enthusiastically and supportively – some are even bringing back the cartons that our salads are sold in to fill with other products, which is most satisfying. Next year, we are looking into adding dried goods to the initiative and to be as sustainable as possible.” Katherine Brown, co-owner Roots Farm Shop, Northallerton, North Yorkshire

“Our village, Forest Row, has always been fully behind any positive environmental initiatives and plastics is huge for us …At Shearer's Fine Foods we have been encouraging our customers for some time to use their own bags and containers, where possible, to refill with Field Fare's loose frozen fruit, vegetables and pastries, who are actively promoting the initiative; plus their own pots and jars to refill with our loose olives and antipasti.” Nick Shearer, Shearer's Fine Food, East Sussex

"We work hard to be progressive at Thornhill Farm Shop, and are environmentally conscious wherever we can be, so when our frozen food suppliers, field fare, launched a Bring Your Own container, we jumped at the idea. Our customers are responding equally enthusiastically to the opportunity to do their bit for reducing plastic waste and the response on our facebook page has been great – with a lot of people vociferously supporting the initiative.” David Cross, manager Thornhill Farm Shop, Thornhill, Cardiff

"When field fare had the bright idea of introducing this into their system, we were very keen to help them do it. We think it's a very sensible way of trying to reduce packaging …We would encourage as many customers as possible to try it, and I would encourage other businesses to think about that and other ways they can reduce packaging." Todd Bulmer, owner Kenyon Hall Farm, Warrington

Sources:* http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/new-initiative-transform-uk-plastics-system-and-tackle-plastic-pollution

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editors' notes …

• the team… field fare remains family owned by the second generation Cryer family and based in Kent on Black Robins Farms, a working farm where llamas guard the sheep (yes, really) and chickens regularly strut through the office (true too). A tight team of just six has been working together for up to 10 years and MD Karen Deans has been at the rudder for 16 years. Karen graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a BA Hons in Business Studies, before embarking on a 2½ year tour with her husband-to-be. They bush-camped and worked around Africa and Australia, then to Hong Kong and Manila before returning home. Karen worked for 8 years for Storsack UK Ltd, an industrial packaging company, then in the oil industry; and finally joined field fare in 2001, becoming MD in 2003, as Richard and Ann Cryer moved towards retirement.
• the history… 40 years ago, in 1977, field fare launched a pioneering idea in independent retail. Visionary in its environmentalism, brilliant in its simplicity, the idea was high quality fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen direct from the field and sold loose by the scoop from branded freezers; with minimum packaging and waste, maximum nutrient, vitamin and mineral lock-in, zero additives or preservatives required and the flexibility for customers to economically take as little or as much as they wanted. The loose range now numbers over 80 products ranging from Tuscan Roasting Vegetables to Tuna & Mozzarella Fishcakes. In November 2015 it was joined by a premium ready-meal range, each made in small batches using the quality and quantity of ingredients used in a domestic kitchen, locally sourced where possible. It now numbers over 60 dishes, including comfort food classics, international cuisine, desserts-to-die-for and special dietary requirement dishes.
• the nitty gritty… field fare ready meals are made in small batches and frozen down to between -12°C and -15°C, before being stored at -25°C, which means they immediately retain all those nutrients and flavours with no need to add any preservatives or nasties. Products should be stored at a temperature of -18°C, have a 12 – 18 month shelf life and are mainly to be oven cooked from frozen. Ready meal RRPs range from £2.75 for a single portion Macaroni Cheese to £8.50 for a double portion Fish Pie, and in weight from 300g for a single portion Liver and Bacon to 800g for a double portion Shepherd's Pie.
• the environmentals… pioneering in their environmentally conscious loose-serve model, field fare is still committed to reducing food and packaging waste and minimising food miles. Freezing food reduces the waste associated with perishables, while loose serve means only as much as is needed is taken, with minimal packaging. It is also year-round seasonal, negating the hugely damaging air miles from importing fresh produce; and, transporting in bulk, with minimum packaging much reduces both road freight and frozen storage space. field fare's one-stop-shop provision of all frozen requirements reduces potential deliveries to just one, but the work continues. In 2018, they are replacing their already minimal, recyclable, loose-serve bags to biodegradable ones. The packaging of their ready meals usessustainable, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificated paper sleeves and mono-material plastic trays. And they are taking the next step towards zero-waste by encouraging their stockists to encourage their customers to bring their own re-useable containers.
• the charity… field fare is proud to support the wonderful work of FareShare, a charity that redistribute surplus food to their 20 UK wide regional centres and on to partner charities. 28.6 million meals per year are thus provided to people in need. fareshare.org.uk
• the stockists… field fare is committed to supporting UK farming, recently recognised by hard won permission from the National Farmers' Union (NFU) to use the Support British Farmers logo. They only supply independent stores, mainly farm shops; and some 400 stockists include selected Blue Diamond Group stores, Dart Farm in Devon, Millets Farm Shop in Oxon, Preston's Barton Grange Garden Centre, Polhill Farm Shop and Broadditch Farm Shop in Kent, Calcott Hall, Brentwood, Thorncliffe Farm Shop in Huddersfield and Gonalston Farm Shop in Nottingham.

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Press enquiries, images and sample requests …                                                     

Lisa Jones, Dandelion PR                                                         

t:          07968 963456                                                                

e:         lisa@dandelionpr.co.uk                                                 

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field fare links:

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