21 Aug 2018
Sam Gaudie, Dairy farmer, Yorkshire
Sam Gaudie was originally a Yorkshire organic dairy farmer, but began diversifying in 2003.
Sam Gaudie was originally a Yorkshire organic dairy farmer, but began diversifying in 2003.
His business initially produced clotted cream, then moved on to yoghurt, but it was a hobby business for many years, says Sam.
He says: “We just did a few farmers markets and the odd farm shop. We did not push it and did not sell a great deal, even though it was well-liked.”
After completing his A-levels, Sam took some time out to travel. He says: “I knew I wanted to come home to the farm and I wanted to develop the yoghurt business, so that is what I did at the end of 2017.”
His first task was to oversee the rebranding of the yoghurt product and, inspired by the popularity of pouring yoghurt in Scandinavia, changed the packaging from a pot to a bottle, then set about finding outlets for the product.
He says: “We could see there was big potential for the businessand knew we had a product people liked, but it was not widely available.
“We visited a few farm shops with samples, but it is quite hard work getting people to take you on, especially when you are new and unknown.”
Joining Morrisons’ The Nation’s Local Foodmakers programme really opened doors.
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Feedback
Sam says: “Through the programme we got to meet people at Morrisons and get feedback on our products.
“It is great to know what people think about your product and whether you need to make any changes. It gave us confidence.
“We started in 30 stores and now supply Morrisons with three products.
“It has definitely been a good thing for us. Just having the experience of dealing with a supermarket is really helpful and helps you give consumers what they want, so it keeps you focused.”
Sam hopes the increasing interest in organic, local food products will help sales continue to grow.
“Everyone is becoming more aware of the environment, food miles and where their food comes from.
“Customers are also interested in natural, organic products, which all of our products are.
“All the milk we use comes from our cows and you can even see the cows out in the field from where we produce the yoghurt.”
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