Helping Woodbridge Farm and Dorset Blue Vinny build a futureproof business

Helping Woodbridge Farm and Dorset Blue Vinny build a future-proof business

Having a specialist food and drink team and the pleasure of working for many talented businesses in the industry, we were delighted when the opportunity came up to showcase one of our long-term clients, Dorset Blue Vinny.

As a family owned cheese maker located at Woodbridge Farm near Sturminster Newton, Dorset Blue Vinny was revived back to life by Mike and Christine Davies in the 1980s using a 300-year-old recipe.

Rich in its history, this cheese was once made in nearly every farmhouse in Dorset, until the Second World War when production died out entirely.

Kick-starting the diversification trend

Diversification has been a hot topic for several years in the farming industry, and Mike and his family actively embraced this idea early on. With Woodbridge Farm, home to over 270 Holstein Friesian cows, they can continuously produce milk to make their Dorset Blue Vinny.

Dorset Blue Vinny is a traditional blue cheese made from skimmed cows’ milk. ‘Vinny’ is derived from a local Dorset term related to the obsolete word, ‘vinew’, which means blue vein.

The farm is now run on a day-today basis by Mike and Christine’s son Richard, while their daughter, Emily, manages the cheese business and The Dorset Blue Soup Co. With the support of their parents, Richard and Emily are determined to carry on the farm and the Dorset Blue Vinny legacy for generations to come. The Davies family have worked hard for over 40 years to keep up with consumer demand and stay ahead of the game. They have a variety of products – from cheeses to chutneys – to satisfy the taste buds of their customers, and have recently opened a ‘pop up shop’ on their farm to enhance the customer experience, showcasing their locally sourced products. Their customers can purchase a delicious Dorset Blue Vinny offcut on the grounds of the farm, while the cows that supply the milk for the cheese ‘moo’ away in the background. They have managed to create a genuinely authentic customer experience.

The business has also made a point of collaborating with a range of other local artisan food and drink businesses. Chococco have included Dorset Blue Vinny in their Christmas range of fabulous chocolates. Purbeck Ice Cream created the first Dorset Blue Vinny ice cream. Holebrooks Deli & Butchers produce Dorset Blue Vinny sausages. Oxfords Bakery make an amazing Dorset Blue Vinny loaf as well as cheese twists. Hotch Potch Savoury Pies use Dorset Blue Vinny in a range of gluten free pies, and The Real Cure has developed a delicious Dorset Blue Vinny and fig salami.

Embracing opportunity

Reaching these successful heights has taken several decades, but it’s an inspiring achievement. Initially, the main challenge was building

“Reaching these successful heights has taken several decades, but it’s an inspiring achievement.”

up the brand, and over the years the Davies family have proved to be very resourceful by working with some fantastic ambassadors. Mike was one of Rick Stein’s original Food Heroes, as well as working closely with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and the River Cottage team to create some fantastic soup flavours. Associations like these helped enormously to get Dorset Blue Vinny on the map.

Emily explained: ‘Distribution can also be a challenge in terms of getting your product listed with wholesalers; for instance, we have just landed a really exciting distribution deal that’s been three years in the making!’

As well as being cheese makers, they manage a working farm that supplies milk to other producers, so there are different cost centres that need to be carefully monitored. Having diversified the farm business, the need soon became apparent to bring together both the farm and the cheese making businesses, ensuring they both run side by side in a more streamlined way. ‘Working closely with the team here at Old Mill, we identified that Xero’s cloud-based solution was the way forward,’ added Richard.

‘As a family business you tend to find yourself wearing a lot of hats, so it’s essential to have an adviser like Phil Mills who knows our industry and is a good sounding board. The move onto Xero was a massive transition for us as there’s a lot of paperwork generated because of the cheese sales, and we needed to set up all the cost centres and systems. We can now pull the right information on a monthly basis to provide us with much better insights to be able to run the business.’

If you would like to find out how we can help you achieve your financial and business aspirations, please contact Phil Mills.

www.dorsetblue.com