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Simply, a piece of moulded black rubber labelled ‘Wellington Boot.’ Imagine you could enter any store the world over and buy only the same wellington.
As a British wellington boot maker, you would have to make those wellington boots as cheaply as possible. You would always be at the mercy of container loads of cheaper wellies arriving in the UK or a bigger more efficient factory churning them out on an exlcusive contract with a seller.
The wellington boot seller, on the other hand, would be looking to source the cheapest wellies and pick and choose welly makers on cost alone. He would command the market.
There would be no loyalty. It’s a rubber commodity. In fact, those shops would probably be driven to making up stories about the wellies to try and exact some extra profit. 'These wellies come from a family owned business in the rolling green hills of Devon...' when in fact they really don't care which factory they come from. They would most likely exploit the welly maker's anonymity to create their own brands and stories, replacing one supplier with another to supply the wellies according to who is cheapest.
Quite quickly, it becomes clear the welly sellers are making the money, not the welly makers. In fact, they are controlling the welly industry.
But in the real world we know there are lots of different wellington types and price ranges out there. You can buy Dunlop, Karrimor, Le Chameau, Barbour, Muck Boots - the list goes on. Each brand then has its own range - Hunter alone appears to have a hundred different wellies!
Each brand is there to add value to every piece of rubber and provide the customers an opportunity to buy into a statement suited to their opinion of who they are. Some are ridiculously expensive for what they are. They wax lyrical in their descriptions…
The Hunter Balmoral Equestrian Adjustable has been developed with experts in the equestrian field in order to put forward this superb equestrian shaped wellington boot featuring full rubber construction with a breathable neoprene air mesh lining. The handmade Balmoral Equestrian Adjustable Neoprene also features a reinforced riding sole with a metal shank for extra stability, along with reflectors to aid visibility. The innovative rubber compound used protects against acids and alkalis found in animal waste meaning that this boot certainly isn't afraid of mucking out. Adjustable side gusset with quick release buckle and nylon strap provide comfort and the heel kick spur means that the Balmoral Equestrian Adjustable are easy to remove. Field green lining and iconic Hunter branding provide the perfect finishing touches.
These brands are providing customers the assurance they want, and achieving some quite incredible retail prices in certain cases. It works for them. They are highly profitable businesses despite supplying, let’s be honest, a fundamentally basic piece of waterproof footwear.
Manufacturers are encouraging the consumer to believe: ‘You are what you walk in.'
However, the consumer needs no encouragement to believe 'You are what you eat’. Why then, did a recent report state that 90% of farming businesses in the UK would fail if subsidies ended tomorrow?
The critical difference between the welly manufacturers and the farmers is that the welly makers own their brands. They will even regulate their retail pricing to protect their margins and be quite content to see their wellingtons being sold at twice the price of another wellington alongside ones that will do exactly the same job.
In an ideal world the word ‘farm' would no longer be used at point of sale. It is a non descript word ripe for abuse (much like ‘local’).
There would instead be a range of clearly defined grades of meat, cereal and vegetables, fruit etc. supplied. These would be understood by the consumer who can choose between them and what premium they want to pay. The premiums would reflect the real cost of the production techniques applied. The UK farming industry needs to elevate the value of its produce from the competition in every sector with clear choices supported by clear definition. That cannot be achieved with a Red Tractor catchall.
For example, farmers should complain less about the animal welfare charities but embrace the public’s interest and concern about food production and work with them to create tangible production definitions and grades. Each grade is a potential premium. More red tape? Maybe, but unlike Red Tractor, red tape that creates a premium for the producer, not just the retailer.
It is vital producers start working directly with the consumer to define their own exact standards and grades of premium and provenance independent of the large retailers who have an obvious interest in maintaining farm anonymity to the consumer. It helps to protect their near strangling command of the food chain, a command that needs to wrested back towards the producer.
The first step is for producers to make their farms visible to the consumer and start building a brand, a reputation and a relationship with the consumer.
Happerley will be a long journey and we will only be applying our traceability technology once we have a critical mass of producers registered. In the meantime, there are a range of benefits to producers acquiring their own Producer Passport. Please spead the word. Let's get our own wellies on.
