Maker Spotlight: Roots Farm Shop

Roots Farm Shop near Devizes came into new ownership and a new name last year when Hannah Timperley took over. Now, it’s a bustling haven for local foodies, with hard-to-find ingredients and local produce galore.

Hannah took over the farm shop, formerly known as Planks, when the previous owners decided to retire. We spoke to Hannah about the highs and lows of owning your own business, the produce they stock at Roots and the value of connection between local makers. 

How did you get involved with Roots, or Planks as it used to be known?

I was actually the butcher at Planks for three years, before I moved on to a different place. Before I left, the owners and I had discussed the possibility of me taking on the shop, but it wasn’t really the right time for me or for them. A couple of years went past and they said “right, are you ready to do this?” and finally, all the ducks had aligned and I thought yes, let’s get to work! 

Have you made any changes in the past year since it came under your wing?

We have indeed made a lot of changes, other than just the name! Roots had become a bit of a high-end convenience store, and while it was lovely, we wanted to make it really focused on produce and ingredients – a place where people can come and pick up ingredients for making great food at home, which we’re seeing more of now that dining out is so expensive. We also want to provide ingredients that are unusual, something you wouldn’t find anywhere else. 

Have you got a few examples of those unusual things?

One of the things I was keen to introduce was a whole Japanese range, so you can make sushi at home, as well as things like authentic gyoza and ramen noodles. We also have a lot of Thai ingredients, and a focus on seasonal products, such as wild mushrooms. 

We’re looking to work with small British producers wherever possible, and one good example is the curry kits from Tastesmiths that we stock. You’re not going to find a Persian Koresh in Asda, but you’ll find all the ingredients here to make one, as well as lots of things that are unusual and new to try in your kitchen at home. 

And what about working with local producers?

We really prioritise local and stock as much as we can from the South West. All our pork comes from Wiltshire, and we stock products from producers like Dauntsey, the Wiltshire Beekeeper, Ramsbury, Ten Hides Distillery, Stonehenge Brewery and lots more. We try to be a place where we can give small producers a route to market. 

You also make a lot of things yourself – what can people find when they visit?

We make our own pies, cakes, traybakes, salads, soups and quiches, which are all very popular. Pies are a relatively new addition – we started out with a handful of recipes, but the demand has been great so we’re adding in more flavours. 

How have you found business in the last year since taking over?

Well, food retail is particularly difficult, and part of the problem is that people’s expectations of what food costs aren't aligned to the reality of it. Shoppers think they can get a similar product in the supermarket, but if you read the fine print, it’s very rarely similar at all. 

A good example is our quiches, which are best sellers. If you look at a supermarket quiche, the highest ingredient is often water, because they use lots of dried components. In our quiches, we use 60 whole eggs per batch, two litres of double cream straight from British farms, two litres of full fat milk, and with those quality ingredients comes a higher price. But at the same time, you’re getting a much better product. 

It’s not all doom and gloom, though – we’re getting a really good response from customers, and the past few weeks have been much better for business than the previous ones. It’s not just because the weather’s picking up, but because we’re trying our best to get the message out there, to talk to our customers and find out what they’re looking for. 

You’re really open with your customers on social media – what difference do you think channels like Facebook and Instagram make for businesses like yours? 

I try my best to engage with people, because that’s how you build connection – online or offline. That’s totally changing the way I look at social media and how we use it at Roots. I want to get feedback from people, I want to engage with other businesses, especially when what they have to say is really valuable. The British food industry as a whole has to pull together – there’s room in the market for all of us and having a community of business owners that I can draw from and learn from is invaluable. 

It’s not just social media though, I’m constantly talking to our customers about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, asking them what they want. We’re very much a community shop – recently, one of our customers passed away unexpectedly so we put together a little care package for her husband on the day we found out. Being able to provide that little bit of help, knowing that someone has some food in the freezer they can just pull out when they need, is important to us. And the more people who shop local, the more we can build that community. 

If someone has never been to Roots before, what do you think they should try?

I’ve been working really hard on the cheese offering, so I’d say come and check that out! We’re hoping to develop that a lot more so that we can have a proper deli counter and cut cheese for people, and we have lots of tasters for you to try. We offer some great British cheeses, but we also stock cheeses from around the world – France, Germany, Italy… they all make fantastic cheese.

What’s the plan for the next six months? 

We’re just going to focus on what we’ve been doing, making sure we’ve got all the right products and then building on our sandwich and outside catering offer. We sell business to business, so we make sandwiches for a couple of community shops, as well as providing outside catering to businesses and private parties. 

It’s a great way for us to get our name out there – for example, the sandwiches all have our branding and our address on there, so if people like them, they can come and check out the shop. Also, they’re proper sandwiches – not the sort of thing you’d get in a meal deal, but the kind of sandwich you’d make at home for a decent price. 

Finally, we want to keep working with our local partners and try and grow our businesses together. 

What does being part of the Wiltshire Marque mean to you?

It means community and support – and it’s really important to be part of something like that. It is challenging running a small business, especially a food-based one, so having like-minded people to connect with and grow with is invaluable. 

Visit Roots Farm Shop at the Old Potato Yard in Lydeway, near Devizes. You can keep up with all their news on Facebook and Instagram.

Share this story: