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Devon Hampers and Salcombe Distilling Co. Combine Forces

Devon Hampers and Salcombe Distilling Co.  have joined forces in an exciting new collaboration between the two top West Country businesses.  

Devon Hampers will provide fulfilment for Salcombe Distilling Co.'s corporate and wholesale customers, supplying, packing and distributing its wonderful hampers.  

Salcombe Distilling Co. is behind the multi-award winning brands Salcombe Gin and New London Light, with their exceptional and exceptionally popular products distilled and crafted at their waterside distillery on Island Street, Salcombe. 

Devon Hampers already operates a thriving online hamper business. Launched back in 2014 by Adam Fox-Edwards, a former RAF Squadron Leader, the company has delivered over 200,000 hampers and its client list includes Lloyds Bank, St James' Place Wealth Management and Chanel.

In 2020, Devon Hampers moved to new premises at Lifton, where the 10,000 sq ft warehouse has dramatically increased capacity.  

It can now offer a comprehensive service for fulfilment from a single logistics centre including for fresh produce, and with its ability to leverage its purchasing power, it can offer very competitive fulfilment rates.

Adam Fox-Edwards explains: “We're delighted to work with Salcombe Distilling Co. enabling them to enhance their customer offering and significantly boost sales.  

"We hold the same values and have the same passion for the best of Devon and want to share it with the rest of the UK.  The taste and quality of Salcombe Gin coupled with our reputation for first class delivery at Devon Hampers means we are well matched partners.  

"We're really pleased to add such a prestigious company to our growing list of fulfilment customers and are looking forward to working with Salcombe Distilling Co.'s team to facilitate the growth of this element of their business.”

Salcombe Distilling Co.'s, co-founder, Howard Davies adds: “Our beautiful Salcombe Gin hampers are one of the most coveted luxury gifts during the festive season, so we wanted to ensure a local Devon-based company was also benefiting from the desirability of these products. We're thrilled to work with Devon Hampers as both our fulfilment partner and a valued retailer, their experience and passion for local products is highly admirable.”

Devon Hampers will undertake all the steps from receiving orders to placing the finished hampers in the hands of customers, significantly reducing the workload of businesses like Salcombe Distilling Co. who are extremely busy with high customer demand for their beautiful gins and gift sets in the run up to Christmas.

Mr Fox-Edwards, said: “A significant increase in e-commerce orders for bulky items can provide a challenge to craft producers including warehousing and shipping, we can handle a large number of orders within a very short time, supporting businesses so that they can continue to grow.”

Devon Hampers already provides fulfilment for fast growing food and drink producers including Floreat - low alcohol, botanical wine and Flapjackery - a west Devon-based business that specialises in flapjacks.

The following Salcombe Gin hampers are available and can be found at www.devonhampers.com;

Salcombe Gin 'Start Point' Hamper

1 x 70cl Salcombe Gin 'Start Point', Indian tonic, glassware, Salcombe Gin jute bag and branded copper tongs

Salcombe Gin 'Rosé Sainte Marie' Hamper

1x 70cl 'Rosé Sainte Marie', Indian tonic, glassware, Salcombe Gin jute bag and branded copper tongs

Salcombe Gin Voyager Series Hamper  

1 x 50cl Salcombe Gin Voyager Series 'Daring', Indian tonic, glassware, Salcombe Gin jute bag and branded copper tongs

For further information about Salcombe Distilling Co., Salcombe Gin and New London Light visit salcombedistilling.com and to stay up to date follow salcombegin and newlondonlight on Instagram.  For further information about Devon Hampers, visit devonhampers.com and follow on Instagram at thedevonhampers.

Are your food and drink products disabled and elderly friendly?

I am not disabled nor particularly elderly, but I was faced this morning with a rather problematic carton of very delicious oat milk. 

I sighed when I realised I was faced with a pull tab. A pull tab which was difficult to access and hard to open without the milk spilling out all over the place. 

This set me to thinking. If it was difficult for me, how much harder must it be for people who face physical limitations, are suffering from rheumatism or arthritis, etc.

 It doesn't matter the high quality of the food or drink that your are supplying to your customers, if you haven't made an effort to ensure that all your customers can easily access or serve your products, then that's very unfair on your disabled and elderly customers, isn't it? 

Easy-to-open pull cans are the absolute devil to open if you are disabled, have arthritis, rheumatism, etc. So calling them easy-to-open is somewhat of an oxymoron. 

Returning to milk cartons, if some dairies and vegan dairies can use easy to open cartons, why can't they all do this? 

Sometimes those pull tab milk cartons don't open because the pull tab breaks off, leaving the milky contents unavailable unless the poor consumer has to take a pair of scissors or a potentially dangerous sharp knife to attempt to hack their way into the carton.

I think it would be helpful if food and drink manufacturers liaised with carton, bottle, tin and food container manufacturers to make certain that the food containers they use for their products are easy to access for all of their customers. 

There are organisations that you could reach out to for potential help to make sure that your food and drink containers are disabled friendly.

I believe you owe it to your customers to make your products easily accessible to all.

https://www.humanity-inclusion.org.uk

https://www.gov.uk/rights-disabled-person

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk

https://app.croneri.co.uk/topics/disability-access/indepth

(Image courtesy of Licht-aus and Pixabay)

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Sandford Orchards Celebrates 20th Anniversary of 'Hobby Turned Business Success'

Back in 2002 Barny Butterfield began making cider in a shed. 

Two decades later and Barry is Chief Cidermaker and owner of Sandford Orchards, a business which skilfully produces over 7 million pints of cider annually. However, it still retains Barny's original vision, to produce the best tasting cider whilst making sure it's 'done right'.

Says Barny: “ In the beginning, cider making was really just my hobby but one I seemed to have some talent for. It was also something that I was incredibly passionate about, right from the outset.

However, eventually, it was clear either my hobby or my day job needed to go, and I made the decision to put all my efforts into Sandford Orchards. 

"And it's a decision I've never regretted. I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to create such a successful business doing something I truly enjoy.”

In the early years, business growth was slow, as Barny navigated a steep learning curve with limited staff (mostly family and friends paid with cider!) and equipment. 

But producing top quality cider was always his aim and focus and in 2010 he won CAMRA Champion Cider of Great Britain. 

This threw Sandford Orchards into the spotlight and this recognition gave Barny the confidence to invest in and expand his business. 

The next step was to buy the Cider Works in Crediton, Devon, and bring it back to life as the country's oldest working cider mill. 

This enabled Sandford Orchards to increase capacity and establish itself as a serious player in the cider industry. Growth continued at a steady pace and then at the end of 2019, they made the strategic decision to invest heavily in a full rebrand. 

Alongside this, they expanded their packaging capability by setting up their own canning line, replacing their bottling line with brand new state of the art machinery and increasing automation in their kegging line. 

Barny explains: “The last few years have seen the most rapid growth for our business. Having invested over £1.2 million in 2020 on our rebrand and new equipment, we can now produce 3,500 cans per hour and 6,000 bottles, so that we can supply more of our great tasting cider to more people. 

"This means that, as well as being available in pubs, hospitality venues, off licences and independent shops, our cider has also now made it onto the shelves of high street retailers including Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Aldi, Spar  and The Co-op.”

Although the business, in some ways, has grown beyond all recognition from its humble origins in a lean-to on the farm, it still shares his original vision to create fantastic authentic cider.

Over the years, Sandford Orchards' cider has scooped a veritable host of national and international awards all confirming they are continuing to produce some of the best cider available. 

But Barny isn't one to rest on his laurels and he wants to ensure generations to come can continue to enjoy tasty, award-winning cider, which is why he is working hard to protect orchards for the future and encourage the next cohort of real cider makers.

Barny elaborates: “They've been making real cider in the UK for over 2,000 years and I want to make sure that tradition continues. Recently, we've been working with Bristol University to map the DNA of ancient apple trees in our orchards, so we can identify vulnerable and unique varieties and protect them for the future. 

"We also want to encourage the next batch of cider makers and have instigated The Sandford Orchards Breakthrough Cider Maker Awards, which offer aspiring cider makers advice, guidance and guaranteed listings in the on and off trade.”

Meanwhile, Sandford Orchards continues to grow at the fastest pace in its entire 20 year history. 

Barny adds: “We are proud to still be an independent, family-owned business and we are in a really healthy place that allows us to reinvest in the business and our staff. We still press and ferment whole juice from the finest apples and age it to perfection to create fabulous cider. 

"Our continued growth simply means more people get to enjoy it and that is exactly why I started making cider twenty years ago.”

For further information on Sandford Orchards please visit www.sandfordorchards.co.uk.

Follow Sandford Orchards on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

That's Food and Drink would like to point out that Sandford Orchards ciders will make an excellent purchase for your Christmas drinks cabinet. In fact, I feel that there's a shopping trip to our nearest Morrison's coming up, soon!

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