“We believe in supporting a form of agriculture which will ensure our, and future, generations will have choice and opportunity…” Lucy Watson and Ben Pratt
Lampeter, a small university market town in mid-Wales, has a history of sustainable organic food production that dates back to the 1970s when several of the UK’s organic pioneers came to the area and bought or rented a small holding on which they grew organic vegetables or raised livestock. Perhaps it is not surprising, therefore, that some 50 years later it should have a shop that sells fresh, locally sourced products throughout Wales via both an online and home delivery service. Neither, given the innovativeness of the early pioneers, is it surprising to know that Watson and Pratt’s is more than just a retail outlet – it is a wholesaler, a bakery and it has its own farm.
The present owners, Lucy Watson and Ben Pratt bought the business, The Organic Fresh Food Company, in 2011 when they relocated from London to Lampeter. It was an ailing business and they began the process of turning it into the thriving business it is today. They changed their stationary and petrol suppliers, chased late payments, and reduced their packaging then, says Lucy, “we made sure we were offering a more comprehensive range of goods, not just fruit and vegetables, but also groceries, carefully sourced cheese and cured meats, alcohol and fresh bread from our bakery” and turned it into a broad range supermarket. In the Autumn of 2016, they changed the name of the business to Watson and Pratt’s.
After opening the bakery in 2013, they acquired land at Llangeitho, approximately 10 miles north of Lampeter, with the objective of growing cereals, rye and spelt, that would be milled locally and then used in the bakery instead of imported flour. Before doing so, however, they needed to prepare the land by first ploughing, then sowing a brassica plant (forage rape), grazing it off with sheep and then ploughing once more and finally sewing the grain. The first rye crop was harvested in 2016 and after cleaning and drying the grain was milled locally, at Llanrhystud, about 15 miles from Lampeter on the coast. About 25 kilos of the rye flour was then turned into bread in the bakery.
The business now employs 30 local people, the sales breakdown being 55% wholesale fruit and vegetables and 45% through the shop and home deliveries. Some 29 of their suppliers are Welsh businesses and, as Lucy recognised, “Lampeter has a long heritage of organic producers and we’re delighted to showcase them”. However, apart from promoting organics and Welsh suppliers, they are concerned about sustainability more broadly, being conscious of the energy they use to power the bakery ovens and the freezers and refrigerators they have in their shop. Accordingly they have replaced the old fridges and freezers with more modern, economical ones, had a local company install a biomass heater to replace room heaters and localised hot water cylinders and installed solar panels which are particularly effective in the summer months when they need to keep their produce cool. While they are not a carbon neutral business and do not source all of their power from renewable sources, they are aware of the problem and are striving to address it. This includes donating the proceeds from the sale of plastic carrier bags to local charities focusing on biodiversity and conservation.
Lucy and Ben have created a harmonious enterprise that is not just serving the local community but is promoting and developing the rural economy and, at the same time, is healing the planet and its people, freeing both from the toxic chemicals previously used so liberally to increase agricultural productivity. The venture is addressing SDGs 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate Action), 15 (Life on Land), and 17 (Partnerships to Achieve the Goal).
Reference
Anonymous (2020), Watson and Pratts rescue failing organic food distributor. Our Food. October 23rd. (our-food.org)
Come and visit HES alongside UNESCO Bridges Hub UWTSD on the grounds of UWTSD’s Lampeter campus at the upcoming Food Fest in Lampeter 29th July.
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