The Why

According to the ‘2030 Britain’ report, only 32% of Generation Z believe traditional supermarkets will be main choice for food shopping.

 

Local producers need to be ready for this shift and Strawberry Line can help now for free.

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You can read more details on this stat on Tide Bank website here.

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Adaption to societal shifts

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As technology develops it renders many of manual labour jobs redundant but this transition also increases the rate of productivity. This influences societies ability to adapt to a faster way of life and prompts us to be increasingly focused on convenience. The ability to achieve far more each day than we ever could before is exciting but as with most things, a compromise is often made.

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Strawberry Line’s key passion is good local food. As we all know, poor food has serious negative impacts on our health and far too many of us in the UK are consuming poor quality food as our main source of nutrition. As a result of our poor food choices, the estimated cost to the NHS is £19.6 billion per year. This is one reason why as society grows we need to ensure good, healthy, local food is accessible and convenient to purchase.

 

Clearly there have been efforts to improve access to good, local food in recent years. We have seen a significant drive for this as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and produce shortages in supermarkets. This led an increase in footfall in markets and farms shops.  We also saw a rise in delivery services which highlights our observation that convenience is King. Convenience is particularly relevant for the generations known as Millennials, Gen Z and generation Alpha who have relied on the convenience technology offers for much or all of their life.

 

However, we have identified a disadvantage to delivery services. There is very little opportunity for in-person interactions when products are delivered which is important when we consider human needs in an ever modernising world and building local outer-city communities.

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Links

Tackling poverty and the cost of food | NHS Confederation

What would it take to level up the UK’s rural areas? - Economics Observatory

Farm shops enjoy rise in popularity as supermarket shortages continue - Farmers Guide

2021_CPRE_Young-people-in-rural-areas_full-report.pdf

 

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​Lonely Generations

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The UK Government found UK citizens are feeling lonelier and more than ever devoid of in-person social interactions. This is especially prevalent people aged 16-24, with 73% of Generation Z feeling lonely most of the time. It’s important to recognise this generation grew up with technology and therefore convenience. Our increasing demand for convenience can leave our in-person engagement needs neglected as shopping, learning and hobbies become evermore reliant on technology rather than in-person interactions.

 

We are also seeing rural and smaller suburban communities economies becoming poorer. This in part is down to a lack of opportunities for business in the area so people move to jobs in larger towns and cities where employment and social opportunities are considered better.  This social desertification of rural and suburban communities naturally reduces the opportunity for social interactions which reduces the potential for opportunity to sustain the local economy.

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In-person social interactions are a natural human requirement and just the act of getting outside and talking to your local shop keeper adds to our perspective of the local area and enabled you to identify the challenges and therefore opportunities. This information leads to personal interest in the local area and therefore opportunities for investment can be identified. The development of opportunity is one way of improving the state of the local economy. The Government realises that economic wealth should be reflected across the country and encouraging communities to reconnect is one way Strawbrry Line and producers can work together to revive.

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Links

Loneliness - Every Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

2021_CPRE_Young-people-in-rural-areas_full-report.pdf

 

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A short recent history of local food trends

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It’s been recorded that 73% of the public often look specifically for British food when shopping, this is the highest percentage since the Farmer Favourability Survey began in 2012. Furthermore, a GlobalData Survey found that 84% of respondents would pay more for food which was beneficial for the environment, reduces poverty or acted against climate change. This data suggests there is plenty of interest in purchasing from local producers.

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In true British style the weather has an enormous impact how produce sells at farmers markets and on-site stalls. In our research we have found some local producers have stopped selling at markets because of their unreliability. This is down to food wastage and the significant time required. We even found a producer who said summer, when their produce is at its most abundant, is their worst time of year for sales because the locals leave the area and go on holiday elsewhere. Therefore, they have changed their business to online veg boxes only, a trending story for many local producers and is evidence at hand of societies shift to prioritising convenience.

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The introduction of veg boxes is one method leveraging societies increasing interest in purchasing local food and also allows producers to have a more reliable business model and data throughout the year. You could even say that veg box schemes have been a game-changer over the recent years as interest spike by 111% between March and April 2020.

 

Perhaps more interestingly, is approximately 85% of veg box schemes have implemented waiting lists as they cannot cater for the shear volume of interest. This prompts us to acknowledge that despite the success of veg boxes, there is still significant demand to shop in-person as it present flexibility in both purchasing choice and time. You can see this in action by popping to your local supermarket, corner shop or market stall.

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Clearly veg boxes are here to stay, and we are a huge fan of them as they benefit local producers and bring local produce to a broader consumer audience. However, it is hard to ignore the fact that veg boxes aren’t for everyone and as evidence shows, a single solution cannot cater for all who are interested!

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Links

the Farmer Favourability Survey 

GlobalData

 

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Conclusion

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Strawberry Line is on a mission to make purchasing local food more accessible to a broader audience and to free up time for producers to focus on the growing.

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We know food is intrinsically linked to health and community prosperity if done right. Supporting our local producers will aide the health of our communities as the population consumes locally grown produce on land which is cared for and not as intensively farmed. Conversely, we recognise purchasing local food is often not the most convenient form of shopping and can mean you head to the supermarket begrudgingly to pick up the fresh items you were unable to source at your local producer.

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Strawberry Line also want to get people outside and talking to each-other again. This is how communities are formed and opportunities realised. Before you know it, you’ve got a thriving community and economy.

Strawberry Line wants to make purchasing local food, in-person, a convenient yet social experience. We want to see local producers having time to focus on growing their produce and expanding their thriving business. In, fact we want to see even more local producers popping up all over the country as they have a key part to play in local prosperity.

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To achieve this, Strawberry Line will be a convenient solution which attracts a broader audience of customers to producers where they have the flexibility to purchase exactly what they came for without a trudge to the fresh produce section at the supermarket.

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Our solution is different to veg boxes as they revolve around convenience and scheduled delivery. Strawberry Line will give flexibility of choice and social interactions that shopping in person provides, without the disappointment of an unavailable product.

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The Bottom-Line

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Strawberry Line believes convenience access to good, local food can play a part in reviving local rural and suburban communities.

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It's a big claim - we know!