___________________________________________________________________________________________ Hunt’ s Food Group
began in 1912, and it’ s still a working farm run by my cousin, Charlie Hunt,” Thomas explains.“ There was a small coffee shop on site, but we opened a café there earlier this year as we think it’ s a great opportunity to reconnect the business with its early roots. We have our wholesale operational head offices in Sherborne and there’ s a lot of history in the area, so it’ s great to add another offering in the region.
“ Just four weeks ago [ at the time of writing ] we opened Hunts Food Hall at the farm too. There was a large, underutilized barn on the site and we’ ve converted it into a food hall, which we’ re describing as somewhere between a supermarket and a farm shop. It’ s got a butchery counter, local cheeses, fine wines, and fresh fruit and veg; so, all the things you’ d expect to see in a farm shop, but we’ ve also made sure visitors could also do a‘ weekly shop’ if they wanted to. We identified a gap in the market and area for a shop that sold both artisanal products but also essential items at affordable prices, as there are also lots of deals and discounts from the wholesale side of the business.”
Prioritizing people
It has clearly been a very exciting and busy time for the business, but Thomas is keen to highlight that other priorities have also been upheld alongside such growth.“ As a fifth-generation family-owned business, sustainability is really important to us and we want to protect the planet for generations to come,” he states.“ There are several initiatives underway across the business, from solar panels and LED lighting to reduced milage and tree planting. We partner with local food banks and charities like the Devon and Cornwall Food Action Group to ensure no food is wasted, and we’ re part of a rewilding project in the Dorset area that supports specialists by providing tree planting efforts.”
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