NIC SNELL 1998 NSCH: Soft fruit marketing - China, USA, Europe

SOFT FRUIT MARKETING - CHINA, USA, EUROPE

NIC SNELL 1998 NUFFIELD SCHOLAR

I was in my early 30’s when I decided to apply for my Nuffield Scholarship. Being one of four boys on a small family farm, it was always going to be a challenge if my father was to get us all into farming. With my eldest brother, we took on a nearby small pick your own farm and started by focusing on growing raspberries for Marks and Spencer, both fresh and frozen. As part of a small grower’s group, there was an opportunity to run the group and move away from the growing side. Running and building up our small cooperative provided me with invaluable experience into running a business, from accounts, to growers, multiple retailers and quality control systems.

Having run Hereford Soft Fruit for nearly ten years, we merged with a larger organisation in Kent called Kentish Garden where I became their Market Development Executive. It was at this point that I felt I could benefit hugely from a scholarship on Soft Fruit Marketing. At the age of 34, having been married for seven years and with two very young children I was awarded my scholarship in 1998. With support from my employer, I travelled to both south and north America, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Holland over eight weeks, albeit split into two trips.

I am sure I won’t be the only one to have changed direction since my trip, but perhaps unusually it wasn’t because of my Nuffield that I altered course, it was purely circumstantial. However, as is often the case, I would like to think that it was because I had the Nuffield confidence, that I decided at the age of forty to follow my instincts and seize opportunities.

I went into business with my brother George, a fellow Nuffield scholar to help him bring to fruition the results of his Nuffield on Poplar Tree Marketing. Between us, we set up a new business to process and market poplar trees into veneers and plywood, but also took on the small firewood business that was running parallel. To cut a long story short, the poplar enterprise never materialised but the firewood did. Our joint business, Certainly Wood is now the largest specialist firewood producer in the UK producing 20,000 tonnes of kiln dried firewood, kindling and Flamers natural firelighters. Since my scholarship journey over twenty years ago I have become very involved within the stove industry and sit on the executive committee of the Stove Industry Alliance (SIA). Whilst taking a break from regular Nuffield events for a short while, I decided it was time to give back to Nuffield. I joined the Nuffield mentoring scheme and now enjoy mentoring new scholars, but more recently became a Nuffield Trustee where I chair the Communications Committee. I also attend one of the Nuffield Business Groups which provides closer networking opportunities and never ending inspiration from others.