Holt Farm is a new online farmers market and fruit & veg box scheme serving Essex and Suffolk. It was launched by farmer, Pete Thompson, when he lost all his wholesale business as restaurants were forced to close in response to the Corona virus pandemic. The initial idea was to supply local people with fresh produce, to find a new use for some of the crops in the ground and to keep some of his staff employed.
Having worked as an external marketing team for Pete’s brands Cotchel, Reliquum and Thompson’s Baijiu since 2017, Pete called in my support to build the new business from scratch and reach a local audience. We began with a simple online shop on an existing website, but swiftly recognised we needed a dedicated site as orders were so high. We developed the brand story brought in a graphic designer to create a brand identity, a web development agency to build an easy to manage online shop in Shopify. We created social media accounts for the new business primarily focussing on Facebook for a local audience and Instagram for dedicated foodies.
Since the business launched in late March, Holt Farm has grown a loyal local audience and is delivering 150 fruit and veg boxes twice weekly. continue to manage their social media, create content for a regular newsletter and build the brand through local and national pr. A recent success was a feature on Channel 5’s A Week on the Farm.
“Polly Robinson has worked with us for a number of years, launching and supporting a number of products and supporting our senior & commercial teams. Polly has ensured we have reached above and beyond our aspired customer base and delivered great value for money. We look forward to continuing to work with Polly in the future. She brings with invaluable PR & Marketing savvy beyond the brief and is a pleasure to work with.”
Pete Thompson, Founder Holt Farm, Reliquum, Cotchel and British Baijiu
