County's food will go far and wide

From this week, the best of the county's produce can now be taken to a wider audience, thanks to an ambitious scheme launched in North Yorkshire.

Moorsfresh will provide a dedicated food distribution service for small producers in the area, aiming to radically cut the cost to small-scale producers while giving continuity and certainty of supply to customers.

From a base in Pickering, Moorsfresh will pick up items from suppliers, sort orders and deliver them overnight.

Defra is backing the initiative with a £60,000 Rural Enterprise Scheme grant.

As his new venture got off the ground on Monday, founder and managing director Nigel Brotherton said: "We want to celebrate Yorkshire produce and enable more people to enjoy it. Yorkshire has superb produce that doesn't get to the table in the quantities it should."

He said there are bed and breakfast places which would like to serve locally-produced bacon, but could not because supply could not be guaranteed.

Mr Brotherton, a former logistics director with W H Smith, came face-to-face with the problem as he helped his daughter Sarah Pepler to start a shop specialising in Yorkshire produce.

"Traditional distribution methods are costly for small producers," he said. "Often manufacturers will deliver an order themselves, reducing the time they have to work on new ideas and so cutting profits."

While Moorsfresh is concentrating on outlets serving the coastal tourist industry, the Yorkshire Independent Grocers' Association has already signed up its 65 members for deliveries, and this could lead to Moorsfresh eventually covering a wider area.

More than 40 manufacturers, from farms through to firms such as Shepherd's Purse Cheeses, are using the new service to deliver their produce.

"We are concentrating on North Yorkshire. We could go further but we want to contain our enthusiasm to get a working model up and running," said Mr Brotherton.

The venture has taken place in his "semi-retirement" since leaving W H Smith. "We identified the supply problem and decided to do something about it," he said. "So far from retiring, I am working harder than ever. But this is such an exciting project it is well worth it."

Moorsfresh, which cost about £250,000 to set up, has 12 employees, all new jobs. The start-up fleet is five vans but there could soon be more.

It has a valuable link to Yorkshire Pantry, which has imminent plans to develop. The connection means the new business could follow suit.

Mr Brotherton has not been surprised by the level of demand for his new service. "It was obvious really. The business was there for the asking and we are meeting a need," he said. "This will help firms to grow. They will be able to gain access to places they can't go to now except at great cost in terms of money and their time."

He says the Defra funding has been an essential part of ensuring the project was ready to start on Monday, in time for the peak Christmas period.

David Stirling, senior economic adviser with Defra's rural development service, said: "We are committed to ensuring rural communities and enterprises are viable and sustainable.

"Moorsfresh's grant will benefit rural firms across North Yorkshire by enabling local produce to be consistently available."

One of the firms which has already signed up for the service is Just Puds on the Melmerby industrial estate, near Ripon. Grahame and Rosemary Robinson run this three-year-old concern which makes speciality puddings and mainly delivers to outlets in a 50-mile radius, plus shops further afield.

"This means we can expand the business," said Mr Robinson. "It will take away the hassle of delivery and help us to find new customers by having more time for marketing."

Up to now, the Robinsons have been doing their own distribution, with some items going via Amtrak.

Mr Robinson says initially there will be extra cost. "We could do it more cheaply ourselves," he says, "but if we do get bigger by using Moorsfresh, it will become cost-effective as it frees more of our time."

Rosemary Robinson said: "We thought it was a good idea straight away. We had been looking at how to get all our deliveries done and so the service came along at just the right time."

Angela Gourlay, who runs the neighbouring firm of It's Nut Free, is also taking up the new service. "It will save us a lot of time driving around," she said. "We can't afford a full-time driver so this will really get our products out. We are now hoping to develop and expand."

The company, which employs four people, makes cakes, biscuits and desserts which are all nut-free.

Mr Brotherton is now getting calls from all over the UK asking for details of the new scheme. "There is a huge amount of interest," he says.

Asked if he was nervous about the launch of the project he said: "Only two things make me nervous: one is that no-one places any orders and the other is that everyone orders. We want a gentle introduction which can grow.