24/01/2026
Morning! Let's get some updates clear...
We know everyone is incredibly hungry for the full market schedule to return and thank you for all the kind and encouraging messages letting us know how much you miss us from our genuine supporters. To those who spread rumors or leave nasty voicemails on our system, you aren't speeding up our return, please understand you're talking direct to an independent owner and you will not be listened to.
The start of this year we were committed to getting all of our operations running as smoothly as possible due to the early downtime of most of the markets not coming back on till late Jan / Feb with a target of getting back up and running full time in Feb. We only found out that some of the markets had changed their minds last minute due to shopper backlash right before Christmas whilst we had already made arrangements with our fitters and fixers to start the work that was sorely needed to ensure a smooth running year. The jobs we've undertaken are not quick fixes and our Blyth shoppers who came and supported us for the clearance day (whilst filling their freezers!) will vouch for how urgent some of the work was. This includes things like new water and gas systems being fitted, new fridge installations, door and seal replacements and a huge amount of work on the Blyth depot due to damages caused to the building by a 3rd party.
I understand it's frustrating to lose access to your main supply of quality meat (trust me I've practically gone vegan just to avoid eating the toxic sludge off the shelves of supers!). However at the same time I would like to encourage everyone to take the opportunity to step back and look at the state of the industry outside of the small eco-chamber we've built.
Beef prices have more than DOUBLED since '22. That's not some catchphrase moan from a butcher, you can research the figures yourself through AHDB's website and see just how insane the past few years have been with no sign of slowing down. I'm constantly left in awe how nobody is talking about this given that most people will simply comment "everything's gone up hasn't it!". How can it be that supermarkets have somehow convinced people that their steak going from £9.98/kg to £25/kg almost overnight is just things going up a little? Because of mind bending price points. If the steak has always been £6 and goes to £7 but is half the thickness and the quality tanks and the cuts change from the big 3 primals to new names like "sizzling steak" to disguise the shift, is it any wonder nobody is crying from the rooftops? It's likely a lot of us have had to shop around to get sorted over this month and I do wonder, how many have stopped and seen just how bad it is out there. The butchery business has been flipped on it's head where the old "ripoff" farm shop prices are now just genuine ticket prices (albeit trying to get £80/kg for ribeye does me me chuckle!), however there's been a wave of cheaper lots coming in that have never been cheaper because you wouldn't feed them to a dog and the rest of the world is looking for ways to offload their unsellable stock into our skyrocketing local prices.
Stay safe out there. As a family, we're thinking of you all every day and thank you for your patience. We WILL update you when there is new news.
