13/05/2026
This is another long one, but hopefully it is worth persevering with… Or at least enjoy this cute picture of our cows enjoying the spring grass in the sunshine 😁
Everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment, with one thing or another (we won't go into that!!), but we thought we would just do a quick price comparison for our products compared to some chain store options. First off we'll look at our coffees and cakes.
If you go to Costa coffee you'll pay £4.80 for a latte, and that will be £4.95 from Starbucks. Fancy a little treat to go with it? A cookie from Costa will cost you £3.45 (£3.50 from Starbucks) and a lemon drizzle cake will be a whopping £4.25 - rising to £5.00 from Starbucks! What do you get for this price? Often you will get a drink which disguises the poor quality of the coffee bean with over roasting, leading to a bitter and disappointing coffee. You will be encouraged to add sugary shots (at a cost of course) to disguise this and keep you hooked. The milk may well be free range but not traceable, and it certainly will not have been chosen for its taste and quality, rather for its cheapness. Your cake will have been made in a nameless factory from cheap synthesised ingredients, designed to be shelf stable and packed with sugar to disguise the taste of all the preservatives.
Contrast this with a visit to our cafe The Pantry, where our coffee is organic and of the highest quality and provenance, and our milk is sourced from a local farm where animal welfare and quality of product are the most important things - the milk we use is 100% grass-fed and certified organic and antibiotic free - no Bovaer here! Our cakes and pastries are made by two local bakeries, using organic flour and ingredients anyone would have in their cupboards. You’d think that this quality and flavour would come at a cost but no - a latte at The Pantry comes in at £3.95, 21% less than the cheapest chain alternative! The difference doesn’t stop there. One of our delicious choc chip cookies is nearly £1.50 cheaper than the costa alternative, and our lemon drizzle (which is just like your grandma used to make it) is also over £1 cheaper than at Costa.
Across the board you will find delicious, carefully sourced food and drink in independent shops around the country. We always use a local supplier where we can, and we know almost every single one personally. We use our own beef, lamb and veg, and even mill our own flour - there is no better way to get to know your food than by using a small farm shop.
The same can be said for our farm produce. While some things such as milk are more expensive (these are sold as loss leaders in the supermarket, whereas we sell at the true value which ensures the dairy can focus on quality and animal welfare) you will find that many of our other products are more reasonable than the supermarket equivalent.
The most shocking discovery we made was that our beef mince, which is slow reared on diverse pastures and is from a truly native breed, is a shocking 42% cheaper than the cheapest organic beef mince from Tesco. Having sold to supermarkets before, we know how much they pay and how much they charge. By buying your meat direct from the farmer you are not only able to have full traceability, but also ensuring that they get a much fairer price for a quality product. And you’ll be paying less! Some other highlights include our fillet steaks, which are £10/kg cheaper than supermarket organic steaks.
The same can be said for our seasonal fruit and veg. Rather than insipid veg, bred to look good on shelves rather than taste good on your plate, you could be eating tasty veg, with variants selected for taste and an ability to grow without chemicals. Sure - you might have to wash your vegetables before you peel them, but this saves a huge amount of water as home washing is much more efficient than the water-hungry industrial veg washing machines.
If you’ve made it this far, then thank you for persevering! Hopefully you are already of the opinion that it is better to get your food from someone who lives down the road - who you might even be on first name terms with - than some nameless corporation with little accountability except to its shareholders. If you think we might be on to something here, then please tell all your friends about it, whether they come and visit us or maybe there is a new little farm shop down the road from them, support your local independent shops!
