An award-winning Lichfield farm shop is backing a campaign encouraging people to shop locally.
Bradbury’s Farm Shop and Butchery is marking its third anniversary at Curborough Countryside Centre.
Having originally been dairy farmers, Lisa and Peter Bradbury decided to diversify their business and switched to rearing lambs and selling their produce locally.
The shop won the Central England Farm Shop of the Year award for 2020-21 and saw the couple named as finalists in the national Guild of Fine Foods Shop of the Year Award 2020 and Farm Retail Association Rising Star of 2020.
But with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to cause challenges for retailers, Lisa said the loyalty of local customers had been key.
“It has taken a lot of hard work and dedication to get to where we are now, and the award recognition has been an unexpected bonus.
“The pandemic meant a lot of adjustment for everyone though we have actually tripled our customer base in recent months – these are regular customers who have felt safer coming to a smaller shop which has a community feel.
“We decided to open the shop to reflect changes in consumer confidence in the food sector and we’re grateful to the county farms team in supporting us to pursue our diversification.
“We have found customers are more interested in where their food has come from and that they like to support small local businesses rather than the big chain supermarkets.
“Our shop is known for its quality and ethics of produce from our farm and the many other Staffordshire producers that we promote.
“That’s why we’re keen to promote awareness of what Staffordshire producers and independent retailers offer.”
Lisa Bradbury
The couple have backed the #ThinkStaffordshireFirst campaign which is encouraging people to shop locally and buy items produced in the region.
Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader Cllr Philip White said:
“As the COVID-19 pandemic has hit regional and national economies, it’s more important than ever that we support our local businesses.
“We want people to ‘Think Staffordshire First’ when shopping.
“Our businesses offer a diverse range of products which are often not found in national chain stores. The vast majority of these will have an online presence so we’d urge people to find out more about what’s available in their area.
“Bradbury Farm is an excellent example of a business that has grown, adapted to market change, placed itself at the heart of the community and built up a loyal customer base.”
Cllr Philip White, Staffordshire County Council
