She adds that the lack of dependence on butchery both broadens Minskip’s current appeal and aids its long-term quest. The eggfocused operation is future-proofed against consumers’ changes in attitude towards meat, whether they are eating less or none at all. “We do have vegans that buy our eggs because they know the hens are happy,” she says, adding that the ethical questions around slaughter that many farm shops have to face don’t crop up with Minskip’s model. The shop has even managed to convert the unseemlier side of egg production into something positive. It is standard practice in the egg industry to replace laying flocks at 18-months-old, as they become less prolific. That usually means slaughter (with the meat sent abroad or used in pet food production) but, last December, the Moseys decided to advertise their whole flock to the public for re-homing. “When we put the call out, we thought maybe 200 would get rehomed. We didn’t expect the response that we got. So, we found
out a month before Christmas, which is obviously our busiest time in the shop, that we were then going to have to get all 6,000 hens out of the barn into people’s cars.” Thanks to a master spreadsheet devised by Ben and the good nature of re-homers who took on a few more hens to make up for no-shows, Minskip pulled it off. And Mosey says they will do it again. After all, even a commendable exercise can also be good PR. And this was, gaining local and national news coverage and providing interesting content for the shop’s social media feeds. While Minskip puts platforms like Instagram to good use sending “very clear messages about who we are as a farm”, it also had success with staging hen- and egg-related events to drive footfall. Both its Egg Battles (“like conkers but with eggs”) and Feather Fights – where kids stuff their own pillows with feathers before duking it out in an inflatable boxing ring – proved popular. And, more importantly, they encouraged the kind of traffic
Minskip is after. “It’s about being clear about who you’re targeting and we’re looking at affluent young families between where we are and Harrogate,” says Mosey, crediting an invaluable early branding exercise carried out with a firm that has worked with visitor attraction giant Merlin. While older Baby Boomers are regular visitors, they are not big spenders. “They’ll come and buy eggs, then go to Morrsions to do their full shop. Whereas young families will do their full shop with us because it’s easier and they’re not price-conscious, they’re quality motivated.” Having the permanent lure of three pigs – who take care of the waste produce from the shop – and a quartet of alpacas posted to guard the hens from foxes, only strengthens the appeal to the target demographic. It sounds like the Moseys are well on their way to creating that destination already and, despite the hard work behind the scenes, they’re making it look as easy as poaching an egg. minskipfarmshop.com
What we’ve learnt – especially with the kind of trends that are going on at the moment – is the hens are the most unique thing about our business
Vol.20 Issue 3 | April 2019
59