大象传媒

Based in Hereford, Mark has grown potatoes on his farm for 25 years. His best friend Sean is a farmer and potato merchant. In 2014 they decided over a pint to start working together on a project that would see them make and sell their own brand of crisps. But these crisps are different. Not wanting to add to the problem of single-use plastics sat in landfill and polluting our oceans, they spent the next few years developing a brand of crisps with sustainability running through its core.

Now they make crisps in a purpose-built factory on the farm that is powered entirely by renewable power from their own renewable energy plant that runs on crops and waste from the farm. They鈥檝e developed the world鈥檚 first plastic-free crisp packets, which are fully compostable. To keep the food miles down to a minimum, and to support other local farmers, they only use flavours for their crisps from local farmers such as Charles Martel whose Hereford cheese flavour is one of their most popular.

But investment has spiralled way past their initial estimates and they鈥檝e had to borrow from their own businesses as well as applying for bank loans and grants. To mitigate their costs, they鈥檝e eschewed the normal distribution networks and taken their product to market themselves.
But can they sell their crisps, and have they done enough to keep their farms going for the next generation?