Purely Organic
What plans are there for the business to grow?
Purely Organic has reached an agreement with the only organic food distributor in Russia to supply its organic trout to the Russian market. With a presence in both Moscow and St Petersburg, this distributor plans to sign a contract with Purely Organic to supply 30 tonnes of organic trout in the first year of a five year renewable agreement.
As Tony and Eleanor's business currently produces only half a tonne of fish every week, it is clear that they need to expand their operations if they are to satisfy both domestic and overseas demand. At present they are building up to produce three-quarters of a tonne per week and plan to grow sufficiently fast to supply three tonnes a week in the near future.
The Russian distributors say that with 100 000 multi-millionaires in their country, there is plenty of demand there for what they believe is the best trout in Europe, regardless of the distance between the supplier and the end consumer. Trout for the Russian market would have to be transported by air. With the resulting impact on Purely Organic trout's 'food miles', the firm's pragmatic attitude to this notion is understandable.
As a result of the Russian agreement, Purely Organic plans to upgrade its entire operation to satisfy the new demand. As well as expanding the farm shop, the firm will have to look to bring in new commercial partners. For instance it will outsource its processing operations to a larger firm, The Organic Smokehouse in Shropshire, in a move that will be mutually beneficial for both companies.
Purely Organic also supplies the market with other aquaculture products. Here a staff member displays one of the firm’s crayfish. Image Copyright: Biz/ed Team.
Naturally, the kind of expansion involved in this business will require financial investment. Find out more about this aspect of Purely Organic's operation in the section entitled 'Can I have some financial information about this business?'
Exporting to any country means an increase in the size and scope of the external influences that may affect a firm. At the time of writing, Purely Organic face a number of potential threats to their export agreement:
- The political impact of the Litvinenko affair. For more on this, see the following BBC News article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6163502.stm
- Pressure on the relationship between the UK and Russia, such as that posed by independence for Kosovo. Further information on this can be read at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7249909.stm
Friction between countries can affect trade. It remains to be seen what impact these issues may have on Purely Organic.