Why West Malling Farmers Market is worth a visit

One of the best things about living in the West Malling area is the fantastic Farmers Market that takes place on the 4th Sunday of each month. In fact the next market is just a few days away on 28 April 2013 and we can’t wait to browse the stalls that line the High Street; after all it’s what that beautiful wide road through the centre of the town was designed for.

West Malling Farmers Market

In the national media recently there have been a lot of questions asked about the produce we eat and where it comes from, especially meat and processed foods that we buy in the supermarkets. The concerns over horse meat contamination that have filled the newspapers have only highlighted the fact that as consumers we have very little idea what is in our food, and what happens to it before it arrives on the supermarket shelves. 

Local Produce from Local Producers

A huge advantage of shopping at the West Malling Farmer’s Market is that everything sold there is produced locally and we can have direct contact with the farmers and producers themselves, asking them anything we want to know about the food we are buying. We can choose fresh meat, fish, bread, eggs, fruit, and vegetables direct from the source, and support our local economy at the same time.

As shopping directly from local producers gains popularity, other ways of sourcing local products are starting to appear. A new online service called Farm Drop has begun in London and aims to spread all over the country. Their vision is to bring together regional groups of farmers and producers with local shoppers. The shopper will order online through the Farm Drop website and the farmers will bring the produce to a local venue such as a pub or community centre for a prearranged drop off.  

The ethos of Farm Drop is to use online technology to reconnect farmers and producers with consumers in their region, strengthening local communities. They believe that food sourced locally will be fresher, healthier, and simpler. They also believe that produce sold through Farm Drop can be sensibly priced without producers losing out, because the system will eliminate the transport costs and heavy mark-up often associated with supermarket food.
 

Located in the Garden of England, West Malling is surrounded by farms and local producers, yet a huge proportion of the food we eat is imported from abroad. We all have a fantastic opportunity to choose good value, fresh, local food direct from the producers, whether we visit the farmer’s market, buy from local farm shops, or even set up our own regional Farm Drop.

There is also a Farmers Market that has started at Offham.  This is run on the 2nd Saturday of each month at Spadework in Teston Road, Offham.  With the arrival of Offham Farmers Market too, the West Malling area is lucky to have the benefit of access to 2 markets a month where we can buy local produce and to talk directly to the people who produce it. 

More details on Offham Farmers Market and we will be letting folks know more about the producers and stallholders on the West Malling Local Shops website very soon.

In the meantime, with the warmer weather coming, it's a great month to visit a Farmers Market to catch up on what's available.

Encouraging Retail Growth for February

The great news for retailers in West Malling, and indeed the UK as a whole, is that shopper confidence finally seems to be returning. Last month national retail sales grew at their highest rate in three years according to figures released by the British Retail Consortium.

Gradual improvement and customers feeling a bit more positive

Like-for-like sales figures for February 2013 showed that retail sales had increased 2.7% from the same time last year, which is the highest rate of growth since December 2009. February 2012 had seen a 0.3% decrease from 2011. February is notoriously a difficult month for retail with shoppers still feeling the pinch after Christmas, but this year shops have bucked the trend in what we hope is a sign of good things to come.
Helen Dickinson, Director General of the British Retail Consortium said, "It's reassuring that the sales momentum established during an encouraging January has built not faded. There are certainly highly-welcome signs here of gradual improvement and customers feeling a bit more positive.”

February sales were stimulated by a number of individual factors, but in general these were all linked by one key theme, which was retailers responding to their customers’ needs. The heavy snowfall at the end of January kept many shoppers indoors, so a large number of retailers responded by extending their January sales into February, and apparently reaped the rewards of doing so.

One retail sector that displayed strong growth was gifts, and this was likely to be due to Valentine’s Day halfway through the month, and a fairly early Mother’s day at the beginning of March. Retailers that tailored their product offering to these occasions and spent extra time and effort promoting their gift ranges are sure to have profited. Homeware sales also grew impressively, which may be linked to the recent upturn in the housing market.

Fashion was another sector that performed well and this will have been influenced by London Fashion Week. Shoes are usually the best selling fashion items in February but this year Spring clothing ranges were outselling shoes for a large part of the month. Again, fashion retailers that responded to the trends seen during Fashion Week would have been able to make good use of the momentum it created.

With the arrival of several new shops in West Malling during the beginning of 2013, the signs are good for retailers.  The lastest arrivals in the West Malling High Street include Fragolina - vintage clothes boutique, Number 39 - ladies shoes, bags and accessories and several new shops in Abbey Arcade, including From Mimi - baby and childrens clothing boutique, Baby Bea - for Mum-to-be, new baby and new Mum and All Things Beautiful for home accessories.

Overall these figures are a very positive sign for retailers. While nobody would dispute that times are still hard, it is clear that there are shoppers out there and they are increasingly ready to spend. Retailers that really understand what their customers want, and respond to those needs as well as to local and national events, are likely to be the ones whose businesses survive and grow despite difficult economic times.

West Malling Local Shops Website Project launches

After more than 2 years in the making, different ideas, false starts and various life happenings to trip us up, we have finally launched our new project on February 14 2013 West Malling Local Shops

An exciting and evolving project...... so here's to having reached the starting post.  Now we're off..... join in with us - everyone welcome...

Coming Valentines Day 2013 - West Malling Local Shops

West Malling Local Shops is coming on 14 February 2013 - Valentines Day .. more information to follow shortly .....

New Year 2012 - West Malling Local Shops

Watch this space....

Links, features and lots of information to help you enjoy everything West Malling has to offer from its local independent retailers and bars and restaurants.

A special shopping destination.. full of nice surprises and an excellent place to visit and enjoy.