Buyers' Club Bio: Phil Haughton
Get to know our readership: Phil Haughton, founder of Bristol’s independent Better Food chain, speaks about product sourcing, effective POS and why he began his career in the natural health industry.
Featured this month
Buyer name: Phil Haughton
Store name/location: Better Food, Bristol
Number of stores: 4
Number of years retailing: 38
Why you got into the natural health industry: I never saw it as an industry. I was always motivated by making organic food accessible to more people and connecting them with farmers and processors. Food and farm justice always motivated me. How can I best nourish people’s lives and nurture our soils and farms to better health?
Most effective POS: Themed drops with campaigns works well for us. We had fantastic results with IBIS Rice taking five or six shelves surrounded by shelf talker POS promoting them and telling the story.
Most effective promotion: Our fabulous own-brand olive oil, direct from the producer. We put it on promotion for our loyalty scheme sign-ups and had strong uplift. Olive oil prices have been rising fast so it really captured the moment.
Favourite product and why you love it: Blood orange juice from Sicily. We’ve visited the farmers. The soil and local climate under Mount Etna make it the best blood orange juice in the world. The relationship is built on connection, love, loyalty and trust – ingredients needed in all we do.
How you find new products: Distributors offers, alongside shows. But the ones that excite us are producers and brands that seek us out and have a passion for their offer, where we can ‘feel’ what’s better and how this might chime with our customers.
Which issues are front of mind when sourcing products? Simply put: organic, local, ethical. We pride ourselves on strong relationships with suppliers.
Top tips for ordering: Know your business and your customers. Know your shelves and stock levels; analyze how they serve the business and the environment.
What are your customers looking for in 2024? Peace! Seriously, I believe our role, in part, is to offer solutions beyond food. Peace of mind, healing our world wherever we can. It’s hard out there and we’re all important in supporting our citizens to be more resilient and thoughtful in how they shop and eat.
By Phil Haughton, founder, Better Food