If I hadn't been a butcher...

- Published: 01 July, 2006

As a boy, Grant Powter, of Powters, Newmarket, dreamt of being a vet. Growing up in the country, surrounded by animals, he thought it would make the perfect career. But his hopes were dashed when he found out exactly how hard he would have to train: "I just wasn't bright enough." he confesses.

He turned his attention instead to processing animals. The family shop in Wellington Street, Newmarket, sells Gloucestershire Oldspot pork as well as his famous secret-recipe Newmarket sausage, miles and miles of which are produced from the family-owned sausage factory and supplied to other local butcher's shops as well as Sainsbury's and Tesco stores across East Anglia. Grant acknowleges the fight he has on his hands competing for business for his meat, admitting that it is impossible to do so on price. Instead, he emphasises the family heritage of the shop, which has been open since the 1880s.

To new butchers entering the trade, Grant offers the following advice: "Don't try and mimic the supermarkets. You cannot compete on price so you need strict quality standards and a strong brand identity."

This advice has served Grant well, whose Newmarket sausage recently won bronze in the Taste of Britain awards.