Speciality Food Magazine

Based in Evesham, Clare Barry is a successful quality butcher, however, trading conditions were made difficult after floods hit the area last year. And, the weather was just the tip of the iceberg as the credit crunch and competition with the supermarkets meant the local High Street was deserted. As a result, the father-and-daughter team decided something had to be done.

Ms Lusted says, “Evesham was a ghost town and we were stranded at work. We looked at each other and just thought why don’t we really push this internet thing?

“The water didn’t come into our shop, but our customers were in caravans – they had to move out of their homes. Who wants a freezer full of meat in a caravan? And, there was no barbecue season – who wants a floating barbecue?”

However, the website, http://www.clarebarry.co.uk, proved an instant hit and built up a customer base of more than 2,000 people in less than five months. Ms Lusted continues, “We knew there was potentially a nationwide market for high quality meat and we were really keen to continue to support British farmers.

“We only buy our fresh meat and poultry from British farms and wholesalers and source our produce locally wherever possible. We’ve found that people want the convenience of a supermarket, but the quality of the local butcher. They are beginning to understand now that you can have fresh meat delivered and due to technological advances, its quality is not going to suffer in transit.”