Northern food and drink retailer Booths has announced that all its butchers’ counter beef, lamb, pork steaks and joints are now sourced from the counties it trades in.
The meat will now be sourced from the four counties of its northern heartlands: Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire and Cumbria, or what the brand called ‘Booths country’.
In addition, Booths chicken is sourced from Cumbria and its beef burgers and sausages are made in Lancashire using British pork. All Booths fresh meat is 100% British.
“Booths has always prided itself in the quality of the meat we sell,” said meat buyer David Simons. “We pioneered a very successful programme of sourcing regional and seasonal lamb, sourcing Lakeland, Herdwick and Salt Marsh lambs from local farmers to offer customers a true taste of the region.”
Salt Marsh lamb is raised on the Cartmel peninsula on Morecambe Bay, where the salt grazing produces unique sweet-flavoured meat.
Meanwhile, it sources Herdwick and Lakeland lambs from Cumbria farmer Ian Knight.
“The support and respect that Booths shows for local producers sets an example for how to do business,” said Knight. “Farmers and retailers need to work co-operatively, sharing insight and best practice, resulting in the best possible produce for their customers.”
Simons added: “The warm reception received each season has showed us a clear appetite from our customers for regionally sourced meat, motivating us to work with our supply chain to ensure the meat sold at the in-store butchery is sourced on our doorstep, in Booths country.”
The retailer said it has a long-held British sourcing policy and has been committed to fully skilled butcher, cheesemonger and delicatessen counters, with its own butchery, fish and cheese academies to train store colleagues and plans to a add a hospitality academy.
“Working with local farmers and processors enables us to stock seasonal and locally sourced meat, which supports local agriculture, benefits animal welfare and offers a great product for our customers,” said Simons.
No comments yet