Cheese Retailers April 2024

specialityfoodmagazine.com 39 Revisited FRIDAY STREET FARM WE HAVE LEARNED TO KEEP A KEEN EYE ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR AND NOT ALLOW IT TO DROP OFF. WE CAN SEE A STEEP DROP IN ORDERS IFWE FORGET TO POST FOR EVEN A FEWDAYS “We have learned to keep a keen eye on our social media calendar and not allow it to drop off,” says Jordan. “We can see a steep drop in orders if we forget to post for even a few days. It’s been a learning curve trying to make posts that are relatable to quite a vast age range; unlike most businesses that can hone in on a specific age group, we knowwe can cover 18-80+ as we have such a diverse clientele.” DON’T LET SOCIALS SLIP While financial challenges have been causing issues for independents across the country for the past 12 months, York- based Love Cheese has been able to keep spirits and bottom lines high with its new on-the-road approach. “We have had a moderately successful year, having turned a profit despite all of the financial pressures the country is now facing,” begins Jordan Thomson, company director. “We have tried to keep up the laid back cheese and wine tastings and taken Love Cheese on the road for events across York, which has definitely introduced new customers to our offering.” Providing a brilliantly cheese experience continues to be top of the agenda for 2024. “This year I would really like to push our Speakcheesey to be amust-visit location in York. We are fully bookedmost weekends, so it’s time to try to figure out how to do the same on weekdays!” A new presence at markets and events have also fared well, although the Love Cheese team came across a learning curve when it came to pre-ordering stock – “these have been challenging in terms of making sure we aren’t stuck with loads of leftover produce at the end.” It’s not only in-person events that are experiencing a boost. “It’s really amazing to see somany people returning to our virtual tastings, especially our Port & Cheese tasting which sold out three times – we were lucky to be able to up the produce until our suppliers had pretty much been wiped out by us!” Event success aside, keeping prices right in the store has been a challenge. “It’s definitely been a tough 12 months trying to keep pricing down for our customers as everything has risen so dramatically,” says Jordan. “But we havemanaged to keep many products at an affordable price point or replace themwith something equally delicious andmore affordable.” Love Cheese