FOOD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD

• To create social enterprises applying commercial market based strategies to achieve social and environmental purposes. These social enterprises will provide local communities with access to inputs, value added processing and a route to national, regional and international markets.
• To create demand for local products by linking landscape, culture and biodiversity conservation to generate income for local communities within the framework of local and regional development plans.
• To bring private sector values to community development and through equity participation build long term capacity.
• To promote truly bottom up development that is commercially and financially sustainable, ethical and environmentally friendly.

The Food Development Company will prepare business plans, promote and manage investments and undertake trade in a range of products. Jim Turnbull and Murray Pringle are the founding directors.

Food Development Company Ltd

32 Oakley Road, Chinnor

Oxfordshire, OX39 4HB, England

Tel: +44 1844 352 385

Fax: +44 1844 354 991

E-mail: info@FoodDevCo.com

Registered in England No. 7010433

Jim Turnbull is Founder and Managing Director of BMC Ltd. He is also Founder, Director & Company Secretary of Fundatia ADEPT Ltd, a charity registered in England, and Founder & Director of Fundatia ADEPT Transilvania, a charity registered in Romania. The aims of ADEPT are to preserve one of Europe's last medieval landscapes, the Saxon Villages area of South Transylvania, through an innovative project to create a market-led conservation area working in close cooperation with local communities. He is co-founder of the first Farmers Market in Romania which opened in Bucharest, 2007 and adviser to the second which opened in Brasov, 2009. The Bucharest farmers market was accredited as a Slow Food Earth Market in 2009. 

Murray Pringle is founder and Managing Director of Salama Ltd. He is a Chartered Management Accountant, Chartered Secretary and Certified Management Consultant. He has been an Associate Consultant with BMC Ltd since 2003, working on the Government Business Link scheme assisting business start-ups and with the preparation of business plans for various commercial and development organisations. He has worked for many years as consultant and/or team leader with high-profile organisations in the food, ecological-tourism and development areas, specialising in strategic and financial planning. This has included the business plan for the Transylvania Food Company.

Our philosophical concept draws on the successful components of many public funded projects from around the world and on corporate agribusiness approaches to building businesses in rural areas where the linkage to small farmers poses a major challenge. With climate change it has become increasingly important to consider the carbon footprint of the food we produce and eat and this not surprisingly favours small scale, low intensity production methods.

It further builds on the Slow Food philosophy of linking small producers with the consumers of their products and promoting the concept of "good, clean and fair". It is important that consumers know where their food come from and that this is linked to seasonality, the landscape and the maintenance of ancient traditions and culture.

Finally, the concept which is highly replicable provides a solution for sustainable enterprise development giving the local population a route to market for their produce and encouraging local participation in the equity of the company. It provides investors with an ethical and social opportunity to bring commercial best practice into the arena of rural community development and poverty alleviation.

This concept has been developed, refined and proven over several years in Romania as part of the activities of Fundatia ADEPT but by 2009 the volume of sales had reached a level where charitable status was no longer appropriate and the logical progression was for a commercial entity to take the project forward. The challenge was to convert this success into a sustainable enterprise where social and ethical benefits for the community are seen as business best practice rather than charitable activities. The more the community benefits financially, the more it will appreciate the advantages of protecting the landscape and this in turn will increase local support for conservation measures designed to protect the rich biodiversity.

The solution has been the creation of a social enterprise where the mission is to apply market-based strategies to achieve the social and environmental purpose. The aim is to accomplish targets that are social and environmental as well as financial, often referred to as the triple bottom line, and where the social and environmental purpose remains central to the business decision making process. This approach recognises a growing international awareness that the scale of the problems facing the world today cannot be adequately solved by the traditional non-profit and philanthropic approach which is dependent on aid, donations and grants.

The BMC network of associate consultants is actively seeking and developing other business opportunities elsewhere in the world where the concept is applicable. Their local contact and country knowledge acts as a critical filter but a frequent bottle neck encountered is the need for a robust business plan. Frequently the local sponsors do not have the skill or financial resources to undertake this work. The Food Development Company is therefore seeking seed capital to facilitate this process and to take business plans forward into sustainable enterprises.

A further bottleneck is that many financiers will only look at projects requiring an investment in excess of say Euro 5 million and very few sustainable food projects involving small producers are this large. It would be a mistake to make projects larger just to satisfy this requirement as this would almost certainly weaken their viability. The Food Development Company is therefore seeking investors who would consider adopting a portfolio approach to minimise transaction costs and to overcome this blockage in the "missing middle" ground of enterprise development and investment. Corporate Social Responsibility programmes provide a route to support local equity participation.

In order to build capacity in transport logistics and to gain knowledge of the main players in the food sector in the countries of operation, the Food Development Company will always seek to procure speciality products for trade customers seeking to indentify suppliers of quality products, particularly for niche markets where the story of the landscape, the people and culture will add value.

The first operational subsidiary in the portfolio was established in Romania in February 2010.

The Transylvania Food Company Srl is a social enterprise that will commercialise the project activities started by Fundatia ADEPT (see www.fundatia-adept.org) and profit sharing will support the future charitable activities of the foundation.

In 2005, Fundatia ADEPT identified the quality of the jams produced in the Tarnava Mare area, characterised by exceptional flavour, high fruit content and low added sugar, as the first product to take to market in its programme to diversify rural incomes. In February 2006, Fundatia ADEPT held its first training course in basic food hygiene (certified by the Royal Society for Public Health) and from this identified ladies who were interested in producing a surplus of jam for sale (over their household requirements). None had ever sold produce before, most believed that every household in the world made their own jam and none were convinced that a market existed.

With help from the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, the best types of jams and the best producers of the best types of jams were identified and "Saxon Village Preserves" a presidium or Slow Food supported project was created. Slow Food Presidia are local projects that work to protect small scale producers and to safeguard quality artisan products. Their objective is to guarantee a viable future for local communities by organising producers, searching out new economic outlets and raising the profiles of tastes and regions. The most interesting preserves for the Saxon Village Preserves presidia were those made with rhubarb, wild fruit (rose-hip, Mirabelle plums, strawberries and blueberries) or apple and cinnamon (prepared with a specific apple variety). The use of cinnamon is ancient and tied to Mittleuoropean traditions, as the region was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In October 2006, six producers with approximately 1,500 jars of their jam attended the biannual Slow Food event in Turin. They were overwhelmed by the positive response to their produce and returned home empowered and motivated to produce more jam. The project was further developed by Fundatia ADEPT and in 2008 the ladies produced and sold almost 20,000 jars. The product list was expanded to include a range of traditional pickles, honey, juices, tinctures and dried herbs. 

In December 2007, the first Farmers Market in Romania was established in Bucharest and is now a weekly event. It gained international recognition as a Slow Food Earth Market in 2009. A monthly market in Brasov is also now established and further markets are being established in Sighisoara and Sibiu. These markets will provide the Food Company early access to markets and the opportunity to promote new products.

Following the accession of Romania to the EU in 2007, new legislation was introduced in February 2009 that required the producers to use dedicated facilities approved for food production rather than their domestic kitchens. Fundatia ADEPT had built a 22x5m food barn (micro processing unit) in Saschiz to provide presidia producers with a food production facility that is authorised for retail sales. The "food barn" is a traditional barn on the outside but inside is a dedicated and authorised food production facility.  On 23 May 2009, HRH The Prince of Wales came to Saschiz to inaugurate this model food processing unit.  This "food barn" is a simple conversion of a farm courtyard barn, and has been authorised by the Directorate for Sanitary Veterinary & Food Safety Authority (DSVSA) for the production of local products for retail sales in Romania, and to other countries. The food barn will help small producers in the area to continue to use their traditional recipes while meeting new food safety requirements.  

The Transylvania Food Company Srl has rented the Saschiz food barn (micro processing unit) from Fundatia ADEPT, will continue to develop the presidium and will purchase inputs and sell produce in support of the local economy. In addition, the Company will enter into reverse franchise agreements to create and support a wider network of local social enterprises each producing a range of added value food products.

The Company will continue to process and market the range of jams, pickles, syrups, honey and herbs. Product development will include the introduction of a range of mature cheeses, dried herbs and cold pressed speciality oils. The Company will seek trade customers, supplying ingredients to food and drink manufacturers and catering packs to hotels and restaurants.

The first trade contract has been to process elder flowers for a soft drinks manufacturer. The collection of the wild flowers involved over 300 families or groups from eight villages and provided income for over 1,000 of the poorest people in the area. The quality of the first trial delivery of 19,000 litre of juice concentrate was excellent and discussions are already underway to double the volume in 2011 and to quadruple in 2012.

Fundatia ADEPT has also been promoting eco-tourism in the area and this has created demand for local products as gifts and has provided a high level of national and international media cover. For the availability of products and services see www.DiscoverTarnavaMare.org.

Transylvania Food Company Srl

Str. Principal nr. 166 Saschiz, Mures 547510 Romania   Tel: +40 (752) 264 593 Fax: +40 (318) 152 769

Business Incubator Brasov Str. Tower No.5, Floor IV, 500152, Brasov Romania   Tel: +40 (372) 686 000 Fax: +40 (372) 686 026

E-mail: info@FoodDevCo.com

Registered in Romania No. J / 26 / 03 / 2010

Barbara Knowles Fund Established by Barbara Knowles  to encourage projects that support rural incomes and natural heritage. The fund works with Fundatia ADEPT and Pogany-havas Micro-region Association, scientists, farmers and local communities, and is running two major projects to improve rural incomes, support traditional agriculture, understand the ecology and biology of important wetland habitats, and identify and protect key species and habitats in need of conservation. One project focuses on the ecology and conservation of ponds and wetlands. The other aims to increase milk quality and value. What could two such disparate topics have in common? The natural and cultural treasures of this special part of the world are closely connected. By helping local people to realise their value (in both senses of the word) we aim to improve the rural economy in its modern context, while supporting activities that keep it special.  For further information visit www.treasuresoftransylvania.org         Cairn Foods Ltd Duncan Turnbull , founder and managing director is advising the Food Development Company on product development, presentation, transport logistics and in particular will in due course provide a route to the UK market for the products as quantities become available for export. Cairn Foods Ltd was established in 1999 to supply fine ingredients and foods to the UK Manufacturer market, encompassing the catering and consumer marketplace. Based in the popular town of Biggar, equidistant from Edinburgh and Glasgow, we source – import and supply predominantly bulk ingredients to a wide portfolio of food manufacturers. Our ability to provide flexible solutions and competitive products within such key ranges as Dried Fruits, Fine Baking and Quality Ingredients to the ready meal market, coupled with our expertise in sourcing the best produce from around the world, has established Cairn Foods Ltd as a formidable and trusted industry broker. Cairn Foods also has a retail outlet in Biggar. For further information visit www.cairnfoods.co.uk         Fundatia ADEPT The project activities started by Fundatia ADEPT will become sustainable through the creation of a social enterprise that will continue to support the foundation objectives of economic benefit for the local population by linking landscape, and biodiversity to products and markets. A not-for-profit organisation and charity promoting Agricultural Development and Environmental Protection in the Tarnava Mare area of Transylvania, Romania. Fundatia ADEPT objectives are the protection of biodiversity and landscape, linked to economic regeneration of the area, such that each supports the other. The first public private partnership for an environmental project in Romania was created when Orange became a major sponsor under their Corporate Social Responsibility programme and a grant was received from Defra (UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) under their Darwin Initiative. For further information visit www.fundatia-adept.org       Land Network     Land Network International Ltd LNI is a consultant project management company specialising in agricultural business development mainly concerned with waste recycling to land, energy crop production and biofuels.  LNI was the architect of the farmer-owned (or "reverse franchise") network of farms in the UK. This reverse franchise experience will be applied to encourage the development of a network of social enterprises in Transylvania. Senior technical advisor, Bill Butterworth has recently published three books on recycling to land, including "How to Make On-Farm Composting Work" and "Reversing Global Warming for Profit". Compost applied to land retains soil moisture and provides nutrients, reducing or eliminating the need for chemical fertilisers. For further information, visit www.landnetwork.co.uk

For further information send an e-mail toJWTurnbull@bmc-ltd.com

[Home] [Services] [Concept] [Approach] [Activities] [Consultants] [International Projects] [UK Projects] [Food Company] [News] [Award] [Management] [Cotton] [Contact]