Award-winning potato farm and crisp manufacturer, Fairfields Farm, heads into 2024 with optimism following a solid year of growing, harvesting, and trading – with crisp sales up 46% and branded crisps sales up a huge 70% in 2023 vs. 2022. Recent investments and business wins put the brand in a strong position to continue its growth over the coming years while maintaining and securing its reputation as an eco-conscious enterprise.
Site investment and improvements have also seen new equipment installed at the farm, with maximum weekly crisp production capacity increasing by over 40% – and with plans to increase this further in 2024.
Fairfields Farm has welcomed multiple new stockists to its customer base. Consumers can now expect to spot Fairfields Farm crisps in luxury retailer, Selfridges; on LNER (London North Eastern Railway) trains which serve approximately 20 million passengers a year; on American Airlines flights leaving the UK; in convenience chain, SPAR; on every Saga Cruises ship; and in rapidly-growing food-to-go chain, TOAST as well as Soho Coffee Company, giving the brand broader recognition in key commuter locations.
When asked what he attributes this record growth to, co-founder Robert Strathern says: “Other than the fact that we make a really top-notch product, we take personal pride in our reputation as a reliable and secure supplier. Our orders are dispatched over 99% in full and on time, and this in turn is made possible by our short supply chain. It’s difficult to overstate how growing our own potatoes has been a huge benefit to our business, particularly on the back of two very tough harvest years across the UK and Europe”.
Another key focus for Fairfields Farm has been its commitment to sustainable practices. The company has invested heavily in renewable energy sources, has reduced its packaging weight by over 30% and uses regenerative agricultural practices which includes minimum tillage and an increase in wildlife-dedicated spaces. The woodland planted by the farm and local community in the winter of 2022-23 is set to remove 14 tonnes of carbon per year after five years and 43 tonnes after ten. The farm’s branded business is now carbon neutral, with most of the capture taking place on-site. They are targeting net zero by 2030.
Robert adds: “I feel incredibly proud of everything the company has achieved in the matter of a year. Our success in 2023 is a testament to the team’s hard work, putting passion and energy into everything they do. As a family-run business, nothing beats seeing your product lined up along shelves around the country.”
“Of course, profitability is one thing but combining this with sustainability is our mission and I’m thrilled that we can now call our brands carbon neutral. As farmers, we are custodians of the land and we must be kind to it to ensure a sound farming future for the next generation.”
