The Juicy Meat Company
The Juicy Meat Company, based at Kincraig Farm by Kelso, recently became the first food
producer to sign up to receive 1-2-1 business support under Scottish Enterprise’s Event Ready
Producers project.
The Juicy Meat Company offers spit roasted rare breed pork and lamb (from the farm herd) in
addition to other locally sourced meats. Proprietors Colin and Moira Dalgliesh wanted to grow
their business and recognised that events could form a potentially valuable part of their
business strategy. They have therefore been providing a spit roast service at private events in
the area over the past two years and have recently entered the public events market, having
attended a number of local events and larger scale events out of the immediate area.
Key products offered are spit roasted hogs and lambs from Kincraig Farm, Aberdeen Angus
beef from nearby Hardiesmill and locally sourced chicken, with the core menu for outdoor
events comprising spit roasted meat on either Italian style bread or traditional bread rolls,
accompanied by rocket salad and a choice of relishes from local manufacturer Pettigrews of
Kelso. Beef burgers made using Hardiesmill Aberdeen Angus are provided as an alternative to
the spit roast. Vegetarian alternatives and gluten free breads are also available.
Unique selling points in the offer include the element of theatre to the provision, with the spit
roast presented as a whole beast, carved in front of customers. The inclusion of gluten free is
also an excellent product differentiation. Both features were deemed a roaring success at the
recent Foodies Festival in Edinburgh where the roast sold out over the weekend.
The maximum number of customers able to be catered for at one ‘cook’ is approximately 650,
on the assumption of five hog roasts yielding 600 units, with the remaining customers
purchasing burgers or vegetarian items. Estimating the number of roasts and portions to provide
for a particular event has been a challenge to the business.
Roasts are prepared in a purpose-built oven that can be hooked to the company vehicle. A
portable spit roast is also available but is generally used for private hire and ‘DIY’ events. The
operation sits under a marquee and a smaller marquee can be added to provide weather shelter
and/or additional service space.
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The company is also keen to explore a mobile operation, providing a one-stop-shop for cooking
and service. Whilst requiring significant investment, this would increase efficiencies in the
operation, allowing wider geographic coverage and more flexibility as a ‘street food’ operator.
The events attended to date have utilised a number of charging arrangements, including direct
pitch fees and concession payments based on a percentage of turnover. Larger scale and less
local events charging high pitch fees do present a financial risk to the business. Event Ready
Producer catering consultant Sandra Reid assisted the company in developing a financial model
to review costs and income over a variety of scenarios, giving a clearer picture on risk
management.
Sandra Reid added: “With regard to operational aspects, I would always recommend that
companies attending events should seek prior agreement on site positioning arrangements and
request a site layout in advance. Where trading information is not available, they should
negotiate a concession based agreement relating to sales percentage, to reduce risk.
“They will also want to ensure agreement on set-up procedures, times, payment mechanism,
insurance, food safety and risk assessment requirements, and develop a basic terms and
conditions document which can be passed on to event organisers.
“While the core product from The Juicy Meat Company currently offers excellent quality, there
are elements of product differentiation that could be developed to enhance this further.
“The hog roast product, involving slow enclosed cooking, derives from the US southern tradition
of ‘barbe à queue’, i.e. ‘beard’ to tail cooking, using the whole beast with no waste. This adds to
the theatre of the event and is a feature that should be maximised in promotional activity and
sales.
“‘Pulled pork’, as it is known in the US, has traditional accompaniments of ‘slaw’, potato salad,
relishes and Italian bread. The Juicy Meat Company is following the tradition in some respects
but a Borders ‘twist’ could be added here, using local vegetables for salad accompaniments or
pre-prepared items purchased locally. By providing these as an ‘upsell’ item, this gives the
opportunity to drive increased average spend.
“The addition of a drinks option has been explored to a degree, with partnership working
alongside Thistly Cross Cider and Broughton Brewery. Formalisation of these partnerships
would allow the company to attend larger events and share pitch fee and associated risk.
“Seasonality is used in the core product range to the extent that lamb and other meats are used
in season, however game could be an option for autumn and winter events. Kincraig Farm is
currently rearing pheasants and there are numerous other game suppliers in the area as well as
local estates.
“Starters and desserts are occasionally provided alongside core products for private events,
however there is an opportunity to test the ‘make a meal of it’ concept at events, working with a
local partner. Traditional Borders recipes could be used or alternatively the southern US twist
could be brought into the offer, featuring pie slices using local ingredients.
Experiencing Scotland is funded and delivered by Scottish Enterprise
“Marketing materials should be enhanced to focus on the unique selling points of the offers, for
example telling customers about the variety of ‘stories’ around the food, including animal
welfare/free range/rare breed animals, Borders provenance and farm traditions, and the specific
cooking methods used. The strong emphasis on social networking is excellent, using both
Facebook and Twitter feeds, as this type of ‘immediate’ marketing presents a great opportunity
to highlight food stories and ‘what’s happening’ at the event”.
Moira Dalgliesh, partner at The Juicy Meat Company says: “The consultancy support provided
by the Event Ready Producers project will be absolutely invaluable as we seek to develop this
aspect of our operation.
“The in depth diagnostic of our events catering has helped us to identify both the practical steps
we need to take and the areas which will provide the greatest business opportunity, such as
focusing on estate-based, agricultural and other local events in the Borders area, plus events
with a good audience fit to our product including food and provenance enthusiasts and music
lovers”.
www.thejuicymeatco.co.uk
Businesses can find out more about the one-to-one support by telephoning 0845 607 8787 or
emailing enquiries@scotent.co.uk
Further Info: http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/your-sector/food-and-drink/foodanddrink-howwe-can-help/event-ready-producers.aspx
Experiencing Scotland is funded and delivered by Scottish Enterprise