Communications & Reputation, an Interview!

One of my favourite things, as most of you will know by now, well those of you in Fresh Produce and Social Media, is meeting new people, either virtually or in reality, I especially like recommendations or introductions.  That was how I met Sarah Whitelock of Green Apple Communications, via some very good Fresh Produce friends or Social Media “Buddies” of mine Hargreaves Plants Ltd.

Sarah has an enviable and highly respected reputation as an excellent communicator and as an outstanding Crisis Manager (a must read is Sarah’s PR Panic blog).  This reputation comes off the back of some 20 years worth of knowledge and experience in PR and Communications; dealing with a number of high profile Crisis Management situations in the Food and Fresh Produce supply chain that Sarah project managed and delivered during her time at the NFU.

Fortunately, in my opinion, the world of Farming, Agriculture, Horticulture and Fresh Produce has gained an excellent and unique new business with Sarah starting Green Apple Communications earlier this year.

Sarah has been spending time interviewing a number of businesses in the Agriculture and Fresh Produce sector, including Hargreaves Plants Ltd via BerryBuddies and AsparaBuddies.  On the back of this interview about Social Media (which you can find here) the team at Hargreaves recommended that Sarah contact me in order to conduct an interview and to get my views and opinions.  The following is that interview, crafted by Sarah.  It was an honour to speak with Sarah and since this interview I have been fortunate enough to meet Sarah.

I do hope you enjoy reading this, and if you are looking for a simply fabulous Communicator, Project Manager and all round lovely person then I suggest you take some time to introduce yourself to Sarah via the Green Apple Communications website, Facebook, Twitter or Linked In.  Yes, she is Social Media savvy, just like me!

How one business built an excellent reputation – fast

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Sarah Whitelock, Green Apple Communications

Carol Ford has two essential qualities for good communications and for running her own business, she is proactive and imaginative.  I had been aware of her business, Growing Direct, through social media but she also has an enviable reputation within the horticultural industry.

What do you do?

My mission is to offer sales and marketing expertise to businesses in the food supply chain.  That might be anything from strategic planning at board level through to suggesting ways to speak directly with consumers.   It’s a priority for me to help farmers and growers understand the needs and expectations of the person who be cooking and eating their food.  Some suppliers and food processors only like to deal with retailers but even they need to understand what the shopper will be looking for today and tomorrow, they can’t expect the retailer to hold their hand through the process.

How long have you been in business?

I set up two years ago, before that I worked for The Greenery selling fresh produce to retailers and prior to that I was a fish and frozen food buyer for Sainsbury’s.  Although I have expertise in fish and horticulture, fruit and veg are my first love.

Do you think PR is important to your own business?

It depends on how you define PR – if it’s about relationships then absolutely because that’s at the heart of the advice I offer to my clients and it’s how I connect with them.  When I first started I was struggling to reach my customers and experimented with paid- for advertising for a while.  Then I had some training on social media and never looked back.  I mainly use Facebook and Twitter for my marketing.  However, I accept that people, and businesses, like to work in different ways so I also do presentations and make sure that I get out and meet people.

What one thing would you pass on to others to help them with their PR?

You need to understand your strategy and your brand and ensure that everything you do follows those guidelines. When you are a small business, as I am, you have to base your brand on yourself.  You can’t pretend to be something that you are not.

Some companies think that they are ‘doing’ social media when they are pushing out company speak on the social networks but that will not wash.  It has to be about speaking and listening and it has to look real and have personality.

Is there anything that you wish you had realised earlier in the growth of your business?

Not really, starting my own business has been a tough journey because there was so much to learn but I would never step back from it now.

Is there anything you wish you had not done?

I believed when I started that my skills would transfer across all types of suppliers but actually I have found that my first love is horticultural supply and its journey from the fields to the shopping basket.  Realising that was not an easy process but I am comfortable with where I am now.

What about future PR?

I don’t plan any radical changes but I will keep up to date with other social media platforms.

It was great to interview Carol, partly because I knew the interview would make interesting reading – but also because she has so many ideas on how a business can develop its marketing and PR.  To find out more about Carol go to her website, follow her business on Facebook and on Twitter @GrowingDirect.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 12th, 2012 at 5:20 pm

Filed under: Agriculture, Communications, Farmers, Food Service, Fresh Food, Fresh Produce, Fresh Produce Social Media, General, Growers & Producers, Horticulture, Online Marketing, PR, Retailers, Social Media, Suppliers
No Comments »

Social Brands 100 – where to go from here?

I’ve been wondering, since I found out about Growing Direct being nominated and then making it to the Social Brands 100 Nominee list of some 270 World-Wide brands on the Social Media landscape, why?

What, why and how – did Growing Direct make it onto this rather “impressive” Long list and where do we go from here?

Some Background:

We found out about our listing on the Nominee list by accident, I had been looking at a facebook post by the wonderful Breckland Orchard “Posh Pop” to you and me – of this fantastic image:

I went in to find where Breckland was so that I could share on our facebook page – when lo and behold there were the words “Growing Direct”.  Stunned and rather taken aback (as this list was about 4 weeks old) – I then set about trying to get verification that it was my lovely little fresh produce business Growing Direct named there.  Four hours later and after much encouragement by some very excellent Twitter friends (@goodshoeday, @josordoni, @mummypreneur, @winningimpress to name but a few) I did indeed have confirmation that it was my lovely fresh produce business Growing Direct.

Not only did being on the list “blow me away” – but the fact that there were some people or advocates that had nominated me, I was “gobsmacked” and of course incredibly humbled.

I wasn’t sure why I had made this list, but according to Headstream (the Social Brand agency) it was because not only had I been nominated, but that I use Social Media to engage with others on a personal level and I try to help.  Well this was all rather overwhelming as I do Social Media for that very reason.

Now don’t get me wrong – not for one second did I believe that Growing Direct would make the Social Brands 100 short-list, primarily because there are better SME’s (Small and Medium Sized enterprises) on this list who I hugely admire, for example:

•    Muddy Boots Foods (who have made it to the 2012 short-list) – go Miranda and Roland.
•    Brays Cottage (who ranked in 2011).
•    Breckland Orchard.
•    The Artisan Food Trial.

Just to reflect, however, Growing Direct was the only, yes the only Fresh Produce business World Wide in the Nominee list and we were pitted against the likes of Sainsbury’s for example.

The results of the 2012 Social Brands 100 shortlist were announced on Friday, 20th April 2012 – and No we were not in the final short-list of 100.  We do wish all the short-listers the very best of good luck, but we are rooting for Muddy Boots Foods.  They are up against some big brands with big budgets – the likes of Tropicana, Sainsbury’s, Virgin Money / Trains & Atlantic, as well as Tetley, Walkers Crisps to name but a few.  Please do bear in mind that all of Muddy Boots Foods Social Media is undertaken by Miranda and Roland the founders and owners, there is not a team!

Having had the weekend to reflect on the achievement of even getting onto the radar of the Social Brands 100 – I am absolutely delighted to have made it as far as we did, not bad for a fresh produce business, even if I do say so myself!

Today I’m reminded, by seeing the following quote on Facebook:

“Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life it’s about what you inspire others to do”. – via Inspirational Women Magazine.  I was lucky enough to be inspired to undertake Social Media by Katrina Collier of Winning Impression, and I will be eternally grateful to her.

It isn’t always about winning, but more about helping others to win as well, this is very true of Social Media.  I suppose this is another reason why I love the platforms that are available in this virtual world.

The other thing for me though, as a Sales and Marketing professional in fresh produce, is that Social Media marketing is one of the newest tools in the Sales and Marketing toolkit.

As such I completely agree with this quote by Scott Cook, co-founder Intuit:

“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.” via Social Media London.

For me Social Media marketing is about the personality of your business or the culture if you like, the values you hold true coupled with the ability to not only listen but to hear your consumer.

So Where Does Growing Direct go from here in the Social Media world?

Well quite simply we carry on doing what we have been doing for the last 20 months and help businesses in fresh produce, but coupled with that, and after some encouragement, we are delighted to offer all UK based fresh produce businesses the following:

If you are based in the UK and are a fresh produce business that might like to understand a little bit more about how Social Media can work, please do feel free to get in touch.  Growing Direct offers fresh produce businesses a free 30 minute presentation on Social Media, from a sales and marketing perspective.

All the very best, Carol
Carol Ford, founder and director of Growing Direct Ltd.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 5:11 pm

Filed under: Agriculture, Farmers, Food Service, Fresh Food, Fresh Produce, Fresh Produce Social Media, General, Growers & Producers, Horticulture, Online Marketing, Retailers, Social Media
No Comments »

UK Self-Sufficiency Slips

We were saddened to hear this news via the Freshinfo | News that UK Self-Sufficiency has Slipped.  We’ve copied the full article here to share with you all, but we can and should find ways to reverse this “trend”.  It seems at odds to us that we as a Nation would not be proud of our heritage of growing and producing our own food….what are your thoughts on not only the article below, but on how we can come together to support our farming for the future?

Self-sufficiency in the UK has fallen from 75 per cent to 60 per cent for all food, and from 87 per cent to 74 per cent for indigenous foods since the early 1990s.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the world’s farmers will need to increase production by at least 70 per cent between now and 2050 to meet the increased demand for food.

NFU president Peter Kendall said: “Producing more from our own resources strengthens the security of our food supplies, is a safeguard against food price inflation caused by shocks on world markets and must become a key strategic priority over the years ahead.”

“We are facing farming’s greatest challenge. Not only do we have to deliver a step change in productivity, but we have to do it at the same time as reducing our environmental impact, using fewer non-renewable resources, in an increasingly volatile climate.”

Kendall believes that it is possible to become self-sufficient, but farmer will have to maximise the advantages of modern science and technology to help us produce more whilst impacting less. “The days when we could neglect our own farming potential and import the balance of our food needs cheaply from around the world are over.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 at 12:47 pm

Filed under: Agriculture, Amateur Growers, Fans, Farmers, Food Service, Fresh Food, Fresh Produce, Fresh Produce Social Media, Growers & Producers, Horticulture, Must Be British, Retailers, Social Media, Suppliers
No Comments »

The Olympics and Fresh Produce – is it still going for Gold?

In just under 500 days, the Olympic Games 2012 will kick off with over 60 days of world class competition taking place in the UK. Over 8.6 million tickets will be available for the Olympic Games, with another 1.5 million for the Paralympic Games and it is estimated that during this time approximately 14 million meals will be needed, that’s equivalent to around 2% of the number of school meals served in the UK over a year.

The organising Olympic committee for the London, or as I like to refer to it the British, Olympics has heralded this as the greenest of Games ever and promising to promote sustainability and healthy living.  This, I feel, means a once in a life-time opportunity to ensure that we as a Nation promote, support and “shout-out” to all the fantastic British growers and producers to take part.  After meeting with the Prime Minister and Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office at London recently for the SME Strategic Supplier Summit, I asked David Cameron what we could do to ensure that small as well as large growers, farmers and producers get a chance to show-case their produce everywhere.

My concerns, in particular, are that if we don’t plan and programme the British growers, farmers and producers now, this year – we could end up with a gap between the increase in demand that is coming and the supply.  This would necessitate the importation of products that we are more than capable of producing and growing here in the UK.

I am also actively working together with hiSbe (Ruth and Amy Anslow) to help to promote and make the Great British public aware, via our Pledge on the Must Be British page on their website of the need to support British Farming and Food.

In order to try and give my views I’ve styled this blog in the form of an interview, below you will find a transcript of the “interview” I have given in response to the challenge of sourcing British Food for the British Olympics.

Interviewer:

A report by the ©Soil Association, Sustain and ref 2007 ‘Feeding the Olympics’ – How and why the food for London 2012 should be local, organic and ethical was the first step in a campaign to ensure that the food associated with the London 2012 Games matches the values enshrined within the Olympic Charter, and the promises made in the London bid for the “most sustainable games ever”. Specifically, the bid promised “to support consumption of local, seasonal and organic produce”.

Do you agree with the targets set out the by Olympic committee i.e. to support local, seasonal and organic or do you believe that a more realistic balance of part imported part British produce should have been agreed?

Carol Ford:….I think that organisations such as Sustain and the NFU have been critical in ensuring that LOCOG (the Olympic committee appointed to run the games) backs up its claim to support consumption of British local and seasonal food.  This has been achieved through the out sourcing with the catering contractors, and specifically their adherence to the Red Tractor standards for British supplied foods.

However, my concerns are that whilst the core contractors are bound by their contracts to source as much British grown food as possible the delivery of this remains outside of the contracts.  More to the point there has been very little dialogue with grass roots growers, farmers and producers to ensure that enough land and therefore food is being planned for next year.

The Olympics will create an additional demand for food because of the influx of customers and consumers coming to the UK for the Olympics.  Without the planning now, and I mean now, this additional demand will I believe either be met by suppliers diverting existing production to the Olympic providers taking it away from the traditional sales channels of retailers, wholesale markets, etc, leaving a gap.  This gap will need to be filled and my concern is that this gap will necessitate the need for imports.

With a little planning now and some concrete commitments to our British growers, farmers and producers this can be avoided and we can have British foods supplying both the Olympics and our normal requirements as a country.

So I do believe that there has been a big commitment made to source British, local and seasonal food at the front end (contractors) but I think that at the sharp end the production – there has been little focus.

Interviewer:

As has been shown with previous Games, aspirations to be green are often not met due to spiralling costs. For example Athens abandoned its environmental commitments due to rising costs and a fast approaching deadline. (In just two years since the bid was won, the budget for London 2012 quadrupled from its original estimates)

With just over a year to go, in your opinion would you agree that the 2012 Olympics is  still on target to be  the greenest Games of all time with regard to supporting the consumption of local, seasonal and organic produce or has the vision been scaled down?

Carol Ford:…the original vision has had to be scaled down in the sense that organic produce is still a niche market when compared to conventional production methods.  I am of the opinion that there has been a lot of work completed in getting adherence to British local and seasonal food ambition, which is fantastic.  As above I am doubtful or have concerns that the additional production required to meet this spike in demand is there.  I am of the opinion still that not enough has been done to increase production.

Whilst LOCOG has been great at getting the catering contractors within the Olympics – like the village for example – there has been virtually no work completed on promoting and compelling British locally and seasonally sourced foods for those outlets, such as local shops, pubs, restaurants, etc., outside of the Olympics.  This brings me back again to the point we will have an additional influx of visitors next year over and above the normal amount of overseas visitors we have coming to the UK for holidays.

Interviewer:

There was some initial concern that smaller producers would not get an opportunity to supply the Games, despite LOCOG’s commitments to showcase British produce.

In your experience do you feel that LOCOG have ensured that a substantial percentage of fresh produce is being sourced from local and regional suppliers?

Carol Ford:…I am of the opinion that smaller producers that produce some brilliant British produce at this stage will not get a bite of the cherry.  I am hopeful that the NFU inspired scheme of employing Business Development Managers at the Wholesale markets may be a way of small producers getting their produce to market.

The last thing any farmer or grower wants to do is grow or produce more if they do not have a sale for their produce.  I think LOCOG needs to ensure that programmes and contracts are given to our farmers and growers to build confidence in them to grow additional produce for the Olympics, in order to fulfil not only the needs of the nation in 2012, but also to ensure there is a British local and seasonal legacy after the Olympics.

But there is also a responsibility on all of us in the UK as consumers to support our wonderful heritage as farmers and growers.  This industry contributes to the National, Regional and Local economies, the Olympics represent an opportunity to get behind not only our national teams, but also our heritage.  It may not be glamorous but farming is the life blood of our country, the ability to feed ourselves as a nation should be a priority.

Interviewer:

With the emphasis of the 2012 Games being on promoting links between healthy eating, sport and well being, with up to 2 million meals being served to children during the games, how do you believe the fresh produce industry’s 5 a day message should be championed if it is to inspire healthy lifestyles in our young. Especially when fast-food giants McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are the main sponsors of the Games?

Carol Ford:…Change 4 Life, the NFU, the Fresh Produce Consortium to name but a few, should be engaging more widely with the UK population.   This can be easily achieved if the right tactics were in place to deliver the strategy of 5-a-day.  Quite simply I find it amazing almost shocking for example that there is no 5-a-day facebook page, an interesting point to note – there is an “I Fail at 5-a-day” facebook page that has some 95,000 followers/likes.  It is also amazing that the 5-a-day campaign will be remembered for decreasing consumption of fresh foods and produce.

I understand that the budgets these types of food giants have can’t be matched, by campaigns such as 5-a-day, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be successful in inspiring healthy lifestyles in our young.  Particularly when you have a sporting event as iconic as the Olympics already advertising using sports people/personalities.

With our Must Be British “Shout-Out” campaign, we (hiSbe and Growing Direct) have demonstrated by using the right tools (Social Media) with a positive message “We’ve Got the World Coming to Dinner” – you can engage and re-connect the Great British public with our Great British heritage of growing and farming.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I would ask have you made the Pledge yet?

This entry was posted on Monday, May 2nd, 2011 at 2:55 pm

Filed under: Agriculture, Amateur Growers, Farmers, Food Service, Fresh Food, Fresh Produce, Fresh Produce Social Media, Growers & Producers, Horticulture, Must Be British, Online Marketing, Retailers, Social Media, Suppliers
No Comments »