Networking event pays off for turkey firm

A c-store chain will be stocking regional poultry among other

locally produced food and drink as a result of a Meet the Buyer trade event organised by regional food group Heart of England Fine Foods (HEFF).

Turkey Talk was one of the 12 suppliers in attendance and won a supply listing with the family owned and operated Fraser Group of convenience stores - in particular for its newly refurbished store in Witney.

Shops development manager Nick Fraser and director Robert Fraser, his father, were impressed by the taste, provenance and quality of the products. The Witney store will feature, amongst other items, local cheeses from Ansteys of Worcester and Fowler's Forest Dairies, bottled beers from Wye Valley Brewery, and cooked poultry from Turkey Talk.

The regional offering, which encompasses products from across the West Midlands, will be promoted to customers using HEFF's Savour the Flavour branded point of sale materials and a regular programme of in-store tastings.

Nick Fraser said: "The convenience store market has always offered ready-meal options but, in encouraging more planned purchases, we want to create a point of difference by selling fresh cuts of superb quality local meat that people won't find in their supermarket.

"Opportunities to stand out from the supermarkets don't come along too often and this is our chance to surpass them by dedicating an entire chiller cabinet to regionally sourced items such as sausages, bacon, steaks, barbecue packs and so on."

This exercise is the first of its kind for the Fraser Group, which has been trading for 40 years, and an additional boon to the newly refurbished and expanded Witney Spar shop.

The success of this first Meet the Buyer event has also opened doors for HEFF with the Lakeside Group, a conglomerate of independent retailers operating around 100 outlets nationwide, of which the Fraser Group is one of 26 members.

Several other companies have approached HEFF, seeking assistance in sourcing fresh local brands to complement their wholesale stock, supplied in the main by Spar and Budgens, and plans are already underway for HEFF to arrange a similar event with several Lakeside buyers.

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