Episode 3 The Farm Fixer

Small family farms are in trouble.

-This hasn't seen action for a while!

-Business consultant Nick Hewer

is going back to his Northern Irish roots

to help them diversify, and make radical changes,

before they go under.

What can you do with 17 acres?

But are the farmers ready for his advice?

I'm not a farming guru with all the answers,

but having observed many companies over more than 40 years,

what I CAN offer is a great big dollop of common sense.

This series follows local farms

embarking on a long-term fight for survival.

You're not turning bookings down, are you?

-There will be tough decisions...

-That source will pump for ever -

and they're going to sell it?

..but doing nothing is not an option.

End of a long day - and for me, a depressing day.

OK.

This week, Nick is on his way

to Newtownbutler in County Fermanagh.

John Brownlee and his Dutch wife, Ingrid, have a 160-acre farm.

Their business is apples,

and their main customer is a cider manufacturer

who likes to buy big - and cheap.

Unless they diversify, the farm will not survive.

Luckily, John has plenty of ideas.

You usually wake up at five in the morning!

-Eating an apple!

-And he's crunching an apple,

and then he says, "I have an idea!"

The Brownlees' ambitious plans include apple pies, holiday homes

fishing lakes and a forest.

Nick has been called in to provide some commercial nous.

-Slainte!

-Good morning!

-Long drive for you! Hi, I'm Ingrid.

-This is Ingrid.

-Yes.

Nick has eight months to help the Brownlees save their farm.

The first job is to get a thorough look round.

-What's her name?

-Jasmine. Come on!

-Hi, Jasmine!

-Hi, Jasmine!

-There we go.

-And who are your customers?

-Er, Magners.

-You've had them a long time?

-Yes, I have.

What sort of percentage would they take of the crop?

They'll take it all. But it's at a low price.

-And, er...

-That's the prob...

A sole customer is always a bit, sort of,

eggs-in-one-basket type situation, isn't it?

Yeah, it is. Which is why we're looking at diversifying.

The Brownlees need to reduce their reliance on cider buyers.

Ingrid works as a business consultant in Europe.

She's convinced that snack-sized apple pies,

which are popular in the Netherlands,

could be the answer.

-Ready to eat.

-And you just take one at a petrol station...

-Actually...

..and you just take a wee bite.

I like the fact that you can actually see it.

-How much do these sell for?

-In Holland,

they're about 1 euro to 1.20 apiece.

So hold on, so here's a way of utilising the apples, the crop.

-Yeah.

-So you've got Magners, you've got a few others,

-Magners will take everything...

-Yep.

-..but you'd like to say, hold on,

let's have another outlet. I like the pie idea. I'll have one.

I'll have one hot!

It's one euro!

As well as apple pies, the Brownlees also have their eye

on Fermanagh's tourist market.

Their first holiday cottage is almost complete.

And what would you get a week for this in the summer, in the season?

Er, we're hoping to get £500-600 a week.

That's not so bad, is it?

The plan is to develop other farm buildings - a fishing lake

and forest will complement the package.

-So that sort of whole area...

-Yeah, will be a lake.

And then you see your young trees.

We've planted here about 25,000 native, you know, trees.

So you'll walk through a forest, you come to a lake

and you go and sit there on your own and fish.

Plans this ambitious are expensive,

but the Brownlees have an ace up their sleeve -

spring water.

-Well, hello!

-This is the borehole, Nick.

-The borehole.

-Yeah. This goes down 120 metres.

-We can produce 66,000 gallons per day on this.

-Right.

-I can smell the sulphur.

-Can you smell it?

-Yeah.

You couldn't actually drink it. It's probably quite...

-Let's have a look.

-..quite sediment...

-Oh, it's pretty clear, isn't it?

-Isn't it? Yeah.

-When was this borehole drilled, then, John?

-This was drilled

-about 20 years ago, Nick.

-Right - why?

Because John had an idea he'd like to bottle water.

They began bottling the water

by hand in the early '90s, but the cost of automation was too much,

and eight years ago, production on the farm stopped.

I find it quite sad, that we had to stop bottling our own water.

What figure would you put on the investment -

-what frightened you?

-Oh, we're talking

-about roughly, was it three million at the time?

-Yes.

-Ah. It would take a long time to get that back.

-Yeah.

We currently are in negotiations with somebody

that has some foreign investors that might be willing

to rebuild the whole factory and...

And you'd retain a stake, or sell it out completely or what?

They do want to buy us out completely.

Yeah? And then...

-cheerio, as far as you're concerned.

-Yep.

A geological survey has revealed the Brownlees are sitting on one of

the largest underground water sources in Europe.

Nick is worried they might become seduced

by an eight-figure deal.

I can understand why they shut this down five years ago.

It wasn't worthwhile keeping it going.

But their great asset on the hill,

their 60,000 gallons a day

is tapped and ready to be exploited.

And they've got somebody who wants to exploit it,

somebody sniffing around, who wants to buy the lot.

That source will pump for ever and a day

and they're going to sell it, and say goodbye to it? I hope not.

To wave goodbye to it, in its entirety,

would be a sin.

And I hope they recognise that.

After an intense day of fact-finding,

it's now time for Nick to present his ideas.

Nick knows the future of the farm

depends on a clear and well thought-out plan.

It's been a great day.

It's not often I get sort of, you know, excited about these prospects,

but there's so much going on here.

You've got apples, you're harvesting 1,500-1,600 tonnes a year,

and then suddenly you've got a lake. I didn't know that Fermanagh

needed another lake, I thought they had quite enough,

but who am I to argue?

And then you twin the lake, the fishing lake,

with your holiday homes here -

suddenly you've got a nice, sort of, regular sort of trade.

They stay here and you charge them to fish all day, too.

But the whole thing is underpinned, really,

by your water asset.

That extraordinary...

oil well, if you like - water well -

that can gush 60,000 gallons a day.

To think that you're going to wave cheerio to that...

I think we were eager to sell because first of all,

it will make sure that Fermanagh Spring Water will grow bigger,

and in order to do so, you need a big investor.

I'm not arguing with that, I'm not arguing with that.

I mean, my perfect scenario for you

would be to do a great deal on selling it...

-Yeah.

-..on the following conditions -

that first of all, you retain the rights to sell,

within 50 miles, your Fermanagh Spring,

using your water that you've just sold, all right,

free,

and you get a royalty

per gallon or per cubic metre pumped, all right?

And there would be a minimum payment each year.

Because let me tell you,

that's a precious thing that's going out the door.

-Mm-hmm.

-If you can do a good deal on that water, yeah,

and retain some sort of revenue stream coming through,

to feed and polish all the other ventures that you've got,

I mean, the future's great for Brownlees, isn't it?

'There's a lot of'

potential here in a lot of different directions.

But don't let's get carried away that we've already got a success

on our hands, because we haven't - it's just potential.

While the water deal is negotiated,

the first thing Nick wants to develop

is an Irish version of the apple pies

Ingrid first discovered in a Dutch service station.

Loughry College food technology expert Christine Haydock

has been called in to help develop the product.

I think this is a dashboard food,

that you buy and eat in the front of your car.

That's a good name. I like that.

I think the whole thing's very...

I wouldn't mind tasting one, actually.

You think of the added value, what you're getting,

for that little bit of apple.

There's almost more pastry than apple in this concoction.

Do you think this would appeal to the Irish palate?

Oh, yes, I think Northern Ireland people like food exceptionally sweet.

-And this is quite sweet, as far as I'm concerned.

-Mm-hmm.

-Mmm.

I really like it a great deal, and I think you did yourselves

a great favour stopping at that service station.

Yeah? I like it a lot. I'm excited about this.

It's autumn. Ingrid is away working in Europe.

John is getting ready for the annual apple harvest,

with the help of his farm manager sons.

This year, most of the apples will be taken to make cider.

Next year, it's hoped they will be used to make apple pies.

For the last month, Loughry College has been analysing

the make-up of the Dutch pies - the first prototypes

of an Irish version are now ready for testing.

Tell me what you think of the taste.

-I think we'll have to put a bit more...

-More apple, perhaps?!

A bit more apple, Christine.

This is made with diced apple. Tell me what you think of the texture.

You should have a better texture with solid pieces of apple.

You can taste the apple more.

It's not just apple pies that John wants to talk to Christine about.

Nick's advice about keeping a stake in his water

has set John thinking - why not develop a brand of water

for pets?

I would like to know if you could help us

with adding some flavours to it.

What flavours had you in mind? We were thinking of beef or chicken

-or liver or...

-OK.

-..whatever you can come up with.

The plan is to tell Nick about it on his next visit.

After a few months of tweaking, the time has come

to test the pies on a focus group.

Getting the public's opinion on flavour and texture will be crucial.

Nick is back to help analyse the results.

This is interesting, isn't it? This is the scientific way

of finding out who likes what. It's no good you thinking, "I like it."

-Mmm.

-That's not relevant!

-It's exciting.

-We've got teams of people,

and the winner will emerge.

What about your water? What about the famous aquifer?

Er, things are, er, moving forward,

and...in a good way. Our solicitors are talking now to each other and...

-You've got lawyers onto it?

-Yep.

And, erm, I think it looks like it's 96%, erm,

sure that it's going to happen, so...

-That's very specific, 96%!

-Yeah.

John actually came up with a new idea on top of that as well.

-Really? What's this?

-Er, actually producing pet water.

-Pet water?

-Pet water, yeah!

Water for pets?!

-Yes!

-Pets are getting fussy!

-Yeah, they do!

-D'you know, it's mad enough...

It's mad enough to have something in it.

For now, the pet water will need to be put to one side.

The prototype apple pies have been marked out of 10,

and the results are in.

We asked them what they were prepared to pay for this kind of product.

Upwards of 75% are prepared to pay

up to £1, but then suddenly, it comes off a cliff.

There's a £1 price point, and that's it.

The scores on appearance - the apple chunk

scored a 6.3, while the apple slice scored 6.5.

And the apple pop scored 6.

The next aspect is taste,

and I was saddened by this, because these are the lowest score.

The apple chunks scored 5.4,

and the apple slice product scored 5.5,

while the apple pulp one scored 4.6.

What I think is fascinating is that

they both look and smell better than they taste.

-That's got to be bad news, hasn't it?

-I'll try and find

a coarser apple pulp, and that will help the texture.

What proportion of an apple would find its way

-into one pie?

-I'd like to think there would be half a Bramley apple

in each pie, which is significantly more than the Dutch product.

If you take it as £1 a pie,

which you sell in...let's say at trade, at 50p, would that be fair?

-Mmm, yeah.

-50p, OK. What proportion of that 50p

-is made up of apple?

-My guesstimate answer

would be, about half the price of your contents

will be products other than apple.

-There's half an apple in there.

-JOHN: Mm-hmm.

And you're getting 25p for it.

So that's 50p an apple, therefore - two pies.

-What would you normally get for an apple?

-A tiny fraction.

-Tiny fraction.

-Yeah.

-So, if you could build this into a real strong brand...

-That's right.

-..your revenues would rocket.

-They would, yeah.

But the product's one thing - it's time to get onto the packaging now,

-isn't it?

-Nick knows packaging

is just as important as the product.

-John!

-So he has sent in branding expert Mark Thompson.

Thanks very much indeed.

After seeing the Fermanagh Spring Water labels,

Nick knows John and Ingrid need all the help they can get.

The plan is to market the pies under the name

"Brownlee's Bramleys".

-Brownlee's Bramleys is a terrific name.

-Isn't it?

-Well done!

With any commercial product, John,

the key with packaging is to catch the eye on shelf,

to stand out against any competition,

to make sure that your product's being noticed.

Not only do you need a message like "non-flake pastry"...

-Yep.

-..or something to explain that difference,

but also something saying the apples are all grown in County Fermanagh.

While Mark works on packaging for the apple pies,

Nick wants to take a look at the pet water idea.

He has invited dog owners and experts to sample the product.

Quite strong-smelling, that one.

Included in the line-up is one of Northern Ireland's top dog trainers,

Keith Matthews - unfortunately, today's focus group

are not quite as controlled as the group who tested the apple pies!

Well, thank you very much indeed for all turning up with your dogs

for the launch of John and Ingrid's JLB flavoured pet water,

which you'll see lined up in front of you.

Let's see what happens.

And did your dog drink any of it?

Yes, he fancied the taste of the pork, I think.

It's Guinness I think he's found - he likes a drop of Guinness!

A wee bit of the chicken.

I just don't think he's thirsty enough. It's not hot weather.

It's becoming obvious that the current recipe is not irresistible

to dogs, however much encouragement they're getting.

Keith Matthews is not impressed.

Water is something that dogs drink

because they need to, it's not something that they take on board,

you know, like,

-biscuits or something like that.

-It's a treat for the owner

to treat the dog, even though the dog will drink the water anyway.

-Yeah.

-So I think we've got to, you know,

look at the owner - and there are silly owners...

-Yeah.

-..who pay good money.

-Not in Ireland, but...!

It makes the customers feel better, giving something good to their dogs.

-Mmm.

-Erm, something with extra vitamins...

That's a good point, yeah. Some health benefit.

Today's exercise has convinced Nick the idea is worth pursuing,

as long as they target owners, rather than their pets.

So, what do you reckon, how did it go?

I think it went pretty well, didn't it? Well, the dogs...

-Difficult test.

-Yeah.

-It is, yeah.

-Very difficult.

I'm sure there are people that want to pamper their dogs.

In fact, we know that's the case. I think what we have got to do,

having spoken to them, is to inject some health benefit

and frankly have a crack at the packaging...

This dog looks as if it's in sort of attack mode!

..and take it to those who want to pamper their pooches,

and they'll pay.

Back at the farm, in the five months

since Nick's first visit,

progress on the cottage has been slow.

The long-term tourism plan

depends on finalising the water deal, but after months

of phone calls, the Brownlees are still waiting.

It's an anxious time for both of them.

It's very hard to explain, but it's like having this big...

cake in front of you...

and somebody says, you can almost stick your teeth in it,

but just not yet - you have to wait

-just a little bit longer!

-Have to wait!

Nick's determined not to let the uncertainty over the water deal

derail the rest of the plan.

So, these are the ideas, Nick - they haven't seen them yet.

Thankfully, the packaging for the apple pies

and pet water is now finished.

Today, the Brownlees get to see it for the first time.

I'm going to start with the apple pie product,

and I'm conscious that you've already got a terrific brand name,

which you've done the right thing with, in trademark-registering it.

The obvious thing to do here was to take the O

and turn it into a little apple graphic,

-so people know at a glance what this is all about.

-I already like it.

-It looks really professional!

-That's a relief already, Ingrid,

so thank you! To move on, then,

from the brand identity down to the packaging idea,

if you can imagine this as printed film,

this half is left clear so that people can see the product.

This side then is printed, to look like a parchment paper,

And the little circle on here gets the message

across about the type of pastry, that it's flake-free.

I prefer it even from all the labels I've seen so far.

I think this is one of the best.

And you'll remember of course the "Dog Refresh" -

what have you got for us?

The idea here is to source a bottle,

and there were soft drink bottles like this,

which narrow part-way down the top of the bottle.

Erm, lamb could be green, beef could be brown...

This looks quite unique, and it really appeals to me, yeah.

I think the design also speaks to the sort of people

that would buy it for their little pooches, do you know?

I think you've got to work with Mark on finalising the packaging,

and you guys have got to get down and really finalise the products.

And then I'll fix the meetings, and those meetings

-will be "give us an order" meetings, yeah?

-Yeah.

Because once you get those, you're off to the races.

Over the next few weeks, the Brownlees work with Hayley Cobane

at Loughry College to get prototype products ready.

True to his word, Nick has lined up

some top sales pitches with a leading pet superstore chain,

and one of Ireland's biggest food groups.

-Mmm. That's a big difference, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Both are massive opportunities. With so much at stake,

Nick wants to hear a rehearsal pitch on Skype.

We, erm...

have a new product online...

As Ingrid is away, it's John that's under pressure.

'Just calling them Brownlee's Bramleys apple pies.'

Complete new product, which, erm...

new on the market.

'And, er, we've picked your company to see, maybe...

'maybe if you'd be interested in distributing it for us.'

At the moment, we're at our very early stages, we haven't got it...

We're just... We have the pie made,

we think...

'Er, packaging done...

'and, er, the next stage is, erm,

'to look for somebody like yourselves to put it onto the market.'

The practice pitch has not gone well.

Nick is getting worried.

Well, I like John,

but to be honest, that was truly terrible.

And if that's the sort of quality of pitch that he delivers

when we meet these people, then the product is dead in the water

before we've even launched it.

It's spring,

and Nick is back on the Brownlees' farm.

The Easter tourist season starts in a few weeks,

so before they go on pitch, Nick wants to see

what progress they've made on the holiday cottage.

Oh, so... This wasn't here.

Unfortunately, after eight months,

it's still not ready.

-This is the bedroom.

-Oh, right.

Yeah. So, almost finished. And our plan is to be fully operational

within a month - website and all.

-So, Easter's gone.

-Mmm.

-The danger is

that unless you're very lucky, the summer could be gone, too.

So, it's the early bird that catches the worm.

Missing Easter is a big disappointment,

but it's not the only area of the business plan

where little progress has been made.

So, the water deal, that's pretty much concluded now, I guess?

Well, I spoke to them, yesterday, Nick, and I said, erm,

er, "No more lip service."

So, it's... It's in their hands now at the moment, so...

-So, tomorrow, the next day, next week?

-Yeah.

-Or next week.

-Next month?

-Yeah.

-Mmm.

When I came here eight months ago,

the water deal was "impending", and eight months later,

I'm not altogether sure it's any nearer.

I worry about the energy levels on that one. The cottage?

Late, no website, it's not going to be ready until May,

Easter's gone, the summer may be missed, too.

So, frankly, if there's to be any progress at all,

it's down to the pitches.

The first pitch is to Jollyes.

With 55 stores, they're one of the biggest

pet superstore chains in the UK.

convincing them to get behind the pet water

-would be a major coup.

-Have you seen this?

But the Brownlees' pet water is not the only pet drink in town.

How much is that?

-1.39.

-That's interesting.

With other competitors already in store,

the pressure to impress is on. Today, it's Ingrid

that is doing the talking.

Initially I think they look very good.

Can you tell me more about the minerals etc that are in it?

Well, the mineral composition actually

of the spring water that we've used from our well

is very unique, and it's very high in sulphur,

-which is very healthy.

-Calcium.

Calcium, as well, which is good for the bones,

so that's already naturally in it.

And we were thinking about adding some vitamins and minerals

in the sense of, you know, maybe glossy coat or something like that.

Yeah, sure. Sure, yeah.

I guess you'll be wanting to put this in the customers' hands

-on a regular basis.

-Yeah.

-So again, there has to be an added benefit...

-Yeah.

..over and above the minerals and vitamins that are already in there.

Having said that, it's a fantastic-looking product.

John can show you actually,

these are the bottles we're trying to source,

-they're a bit more round here, you see?

-Sure, yeah.

-What it is, I suppose it's humanising it somewhat.

-Yeah.

It's very like the water we would buy ourselves.

-And these are possible extension ranges to the flavours, yeah?

-Yep.

-This is tuna, we can have, for cats.

-So do you at this point

-have a recommended retail price?

-We have not really figured it out

fully yet, but we have compared it with

other products, and we were thinking around the £1.50 mark.

What would the product actually cost us here at Jollyes?

Yeah, well, we have only a rough sort of idea

how much the production costs would be,

and I cannot give you the actual price.

I don't know if you have a ball figure in mind?

I would like to be purchasing this round about 60p, 70p, thereabouts.

I mean, we would be willing to help you if we can get the price right,

and keep it a low price for the consumer, definitely,

we would be interested in speaking to you

and perhaps using Northern Ireland Jollyes as a test bed,

-if you would like.

-Yeah, OK.

-OK, good.

Jollyes have agreed a small, local trial,

but it's a niche market.

Nick knows the main hope for securing the farm's future

rests on selling the apple pies.

I thought the pitch went pretty well,

but I've got a couple of observations.

I thought it was too tentative, and I didn't think that you were

actually...able to nail down some of the big issues.

But we're off to see the apple pie people.

So, in the forefront of your mind this afternoon is,

"We're coming outta there with an order!"

CLOCK TICKS

The next pitch is to Henderson's,

a leading food wholesaler and retailer

with access to over 400 stores.

A deal with them could secure the future of John's orchards.

Everything is resting on the next 60 minutes.

So, er, Neil and Nigel, thanks for having us here.

As you know, we've developed a new food product -

basically, a small apple pie. And we've already done

a test run, and John, maybe you'd like to present it.

This is the result of it - it would be in a small package.

We would supply the apples, which is a lot less mileage

on the environment, instead of maybe importing apples

from faraway countries, which is a good thing.

And it's a Northern Ireland product, which we believe

is also a good thing to promote.

-Yeah, it's quite strong.

-Yeah, it is, yeah.

Thanks to Nick's packaging, they're off to a good start.

-But there's a long way to go.

-Do you see it being a brand,

as in Brownlee brand, or whatever you intend to call it?

We have registered this as our specific brand,

Brownlee's Bramleys.

-And the plan would be to extend the range to four, or whatever?

-Yeah.

OK, shall we try it first,

-before we decide whether there's a market for it?

-Yeah.

-These are all the same flavour?

-Yes.

CLOCK TICKS

I think the apple and pastry flavour is very, very good.

But for me, it's quite... There's a lot of crust.

-Yeah.

-A lot of crust.

It does taste very homemade.

But I would consider the fruit filling. It's...

-For our market, it's got a lot of pastry.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-They liked the taste and concept,

but are their reservations about the amount of pastry

enough to scupper the deal?

If you wanted to test the market,

we would absolutely be happy to help you through that journey,

-because the product does taste good, and it is local.

-Mm-hmm.

-OK.

We could work with you on a trial

in a number of stores. Within our estate, we own around 80 stores,

-and we could trial something in those stores.

-Yeah.

We could work together in partnership on it,

see what the market is, if that was of interest to you -

to explore the partnership that way?

They've done it. Henderson's have agreed to work with the Brownlees

and bring the product to market.

What a wonderful offer!

These guys are experts. They'll bring it to market,

they'll sell, you'll make money,

and what happens? You're using up your apples, giving added value.

Eight months ago, we talked as we walked through your orchards -

how would it happen? And now we've got packaging,

we've got products, yeah? We've got retailers -

-real commercial interest, yeah?

-Yeah.

You're up and running. It's fantastic, I'm so pleased.

-So, good luck.

-We'll miss the pressure you've put on us, Nick,

but great working with you - thanks.

-Good luck to you, John.

-Thank you very much, Nick.

Excellent news. Brilliant.

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