“British Farming and Food have weathered “Storm Gate”- now it’s time to celebrate!”
So says Emma Goss-Custard (pictured right), Founder and Director of Dorset based artisan bakery Honeybuns. We spoke to Emma to find out why Honeybuns is taking part in British Food Fortnight 2025 and how you can get involved too, with some top tips for a successful event. Read on and discover the joy of celebrating British food heritage.
Support for British farmers and food producers is loud and proud here in the South West. The snaking queues at farm shops such as Teals, Darts Farm and Felicity’s are testament to a growing appetite for thoughtfully and locally produced fresh food. The phenomenon that is Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat has also turbo charged interest in our amazing British food heritage.
Quoting from the Public Sector Catering website, “more than 80% of people surveyed believe it’s important to buy British Food”. The stats from the Red Tractor Assurance Scheme are even more heartening – “91% trust UK food that is exclusively produced in the UK”.
Following on from the brutal challenges of the pandemic, lockdowns and the ensuing cost of living crisis; consumer confidence fell in British Food from 2021-2024. The Ukraine crisis with its disruption to the supply of key ingredients from wheat to sunflower oil led the United Nations to state, “The United Nations has warned that the combination of COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine crisis has led to the biggest food crisis since World War II”. Gloomy times indeed – heaven knows we are ready for a bit of a party.
The news that trust in British Food is now at its highest since 2021 truly is something to celebrate.
What is British Food Fortnight?
Held at harvest festival time British Food Fortnight is a time when communities can come together and celebrate our food traditions.
Past events have included foraging walks, food trails and fungi forays; a Harvest Swap Shop in St Paul’s Cathedral; fruit and vegetable shows; ‘Bring back Granny’s Recipes’ and ‘Design a Sausage’ competitions; Mad Hatter’s tea parties, Teddy Bear picnics and People’s Picnics; Plot to Plate cooking demonstrations and a drop-in cooking theatre; Meet the Farmer events, school trips to farms and lots more! Check out the official website lovebritishfood.co.uk for more ideas and to find out how to get involved.
By popping up your British Food Fortnight bunting in your eaterie and going all red white and blue on your chosen day(s) your team and your customers can wave the flag for our fabulous national larder of delicacies. From the iconic Cornish pasty to the creamy Cranachan of the Highlands, our beloved isle is rich in gastronomic treasure.
Celebrating food heritage boosts sales
Our monthly pop up shop and café gives us an invaluable opportunity to try out new cakes and marketing ideas. Our very loyal (and very vocal) real life followers certainly don’t hold back in their feedback…
Customers tell us that it’s important to them to be able to:
- Buy British
- Support smaller independent food businesses
- Know food has some degree of genuinely local character.
I used to tie myself up in purist knots about whether our cakes could truly be called local when we use Belgian chocolate and other imported ingredients not grown here in beautiful Dorset. I’m over that now.
We highlight and shout about the local suppliers we can use. Sourcing British as well as by local counties is something to celebrate. An ingredients sourcing map showing where your suppliers are is an easy and effective way to highlight this.
Sharing supplier stories is also powerful. Our free range eggs have come from the same farm, just two miles away, for the past twenty years. So why not pop this on the menu?
Thoughtful sourcing and soulful stories all create warmth and boost sales.
Top tips for a brilliant British Food Fortnight event and beyond
- Simple pull up banners on bamboo frames are an excellent way to convey stories. You can then highlight any key supplier or story and switch up the canvas – you can buy them separately from the frame. Great for British Food Fortnight and beyond.
- The vintage Kenwood mixer, used when Honeybuns began, now sits on the café counter along with my original delivery bike outside. Customers love this authenticity and like to share their “hidden local gem” with friends and family. Dust off items you can display. Try showcasing vintage heirlooms in a more contemporary way to avoid any “ye olde pub” clichés.
- Ticketed events can allow you to control footfall on the day. How about charging a modest fee to come and hear your local baker/bee keeper/vegetable grower give a talk and a tasting? By donating the proceeds to a local charity you’ll generate even more feel good energy.
- Tastings are really what it’s all about. Laying out generous amounts of samples (with clear labelling on allergens) and briefing your team on the story behind each product so they can share this with customers is powerful.
- Get in touch with your local press and invite them along to your event. Socials are obvious but traditional local journalists can be super helpful allies.
- Run a simple competition on the day to win a free lunch. “How many sandwiches to we make every year?” So easy to do and a great excuse to collate emails.
- Generous and warm hospitality is key. Try not to get hung up on sales uplift. Visitors will remember how they were made to feel when they crossed your threshold. They then morph into the best ambassadors for your brand going forwards.
Wishing you every success with your own British Food Fortnight event.
About Honeybuns
We are a small but perfectly formed artisan bakery based in Dorset. Specialising in wrapped slices and traybakes, all our cakes are gluten free with half the range also vegan and/or dairy free. Customers include John Lewis Cafés, The Deep, and RHS Wisley.
Accountability, Community and Excellence are our values. Customer delight is our overarching aim.
Our bakery is surrounded by our own nature reserve filled to bursting with bees, butterflies, wild flowers and our two resident donkeys.
Our Honeybuns British Food Fortnight event is on Saturday 11 October, from 2pm. For more information and to book a place, please call 01963 23597.
Find out more at honeybuns.co.uk, or contact emma@honeybuns.co.uk or call 01963 23597 for more information on how to visit or order our products.
