Episode 6 The Farm Fixer

Small farms and rural businesses are in crisis.

We've put our life savings into it.

A tough economic climate and depressed agricultural markets

are bringing the countryside to its knees.

If we get a very bad year, we'll just have to go bankrupt.

'I'm Nick Hewer, and I'm returning to my Northern Irish roots...'

It's my country. What are you doing here?

I've never heard of Ballyclare.

'..to help these farms and rural businesses diversify.'

I'm no farming expert, but I do know what it takes for a farming business

to survive in these tough economic times.

You deal with the horse, shoot the horse yourself.

Every time I come to Northern Ireland, I put on a stone.

-Can I offer you a scone?

-Can we call you Nick?

And, every now and again, there must be a reality check.

The Chinese are very good with this.

And that's where I come in.

We're off to see Jim and Martina Magill, they farm near Newry.

Six years ago,

they diversified into the flax oil business for the equine sector.

The farm was beef and sheep and a few horses,

but they weren't leaving big margins.

So we tried to look at some way of raising the profit line of the farm

to keep the farm basically here.

At the farm, they produce flax oil, a product rich in omega-3.

And, in the past two years, they've squeezed out a healthy profit.

We started with the recreational riders

but now it's the more professional riders

who are using the product and keeping us going.

Now Jim is keen to target a new market.

We're, hopefully, going into the human flax oil.

My reservation is they've already got a successful equine market

but there's a lot more to go for. And what are they going to do?

They're going to diversify into the most complex market,

that is, things to be consumed by humans. I think they're nuts.

But, let's see, let's see whether they can prove me wrong.

Now then, this is the Magill family.

-Jim, how are you?

-Pleased to meet you.

-And you.

-Martina. How are you?

-Pleased to meet you.

-This is Sarah.

-And your two girls. Sarah, hello.

-Hello.

-And Grace.

-And Grace.

-Say hello to Mr Hewer.

Well, I've heard a lot about you and the equine business,

the flax oil equine business which is doing well, apparently.

-That's good. Yes, very good product.

-You going to show me around, then?

-It's a brisk old day.

-It is brisk.

So, what brought you into the flax oil,

I think it was about five years ago?

Well, margins in farming were that variable.

It was to add more income into the farm.

Because you'd tried some other stuff. You'd tried marigolds.

We tried marigold, we tried hemp, and we tried flax. And it was...

-Flax suddenly...took your fancy.

-Yes.

There was more research in it, it was easier grown,

-it was the most successful.

-Bigger margins?

-Fair margins.

It's proved itself. We haven't got a big marketing budget behind it.

It's just word of mouth, and it has grown from very small beginnings.

-You started locally, I guess, so it spread out?

-And it just spread out.

It's the more professional men that's using the product now,

more so than your recreational riders.

Are you using those people as testimonials?

-They may not have been asked yet. But I would say...

-Ask them.

My God, there's nothing like a good testimonial,

-the most powerful thing.

-Yeah.

Anyway, now you're thinking about other things.

-Yes. Thinking of getting into human nutrition.

-I know.

-I want to talk to you about that.

-JIM LAUGHS

'But before I challenge Jim's plans, he reveals

'the top secret production plant and one of his flax oil products.'

And what's this?

This is what we're finished with after we...

-Oh, you've extracted the oil.

-When we've extracted the oil.

That's gone off somewhere else. So you just throw this away, or what?

-No, no, that's a good product in its own right.

-For whom?

It's high in protein for horses and young calves, basically.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

-Are you eating it?

-Yes. It's very, very nice.

It looks like bark chippings.

JIM LAUGHS

-That's one description.

-Actually...

Listen, I'm not going to flatter you.

But it's not as bad as I thought, actually.

-But I don't want any more today.

-That's OK.

-Perhaps tomorrow.

-Tomorrow.

Nutty snack rejected, it's time to confront Jim's new business plans.

He's hoping to invest £150,000

in a new production plant for human flax oil. Is he wise?

So, how long will it take to put up?

About a month, six weeks, hopefully. A lot of the background work's done.

Even so, that's pretty good going.

You've got to clear this stuff out

and then, bang, you're in production.

And, as soon as it starts pouring out,

you've got to find a market for it.

And the packaging and all of the pricing.

-And all the collateral stuff.

-Yes.

-You'll be busy.

-We've a lot of work to get done.

-Indeed.

Sometimes I feel very anxious, Jim.

'I worry that Jim's flax oil is clouding his judgment.

'He's blinded by the benefits of his product

'and losing sight of a realistic business strategy.

'Still, I look forward to a 24-hour production line

'pumping out human flax oil in just six weeks' time.'

You've been having your flax oil, haven't you?

With your little glossy coat.

Jim has total faith in his product and its benefits.

But where's the proof?

I'm on my way to meet flax oil fans Trevor and Steven Smith.

They're two of Ireland's top event riders.

And I'm going to ask them, in all honesty, hand on heart,

what effect does flax oil have on the performance of your horses?

-So, here we are at Ballymac. Trevor and Steve.

-Yes.

-You ride for Ireland, you were at the Olympics.

-Yeah.

-You've got 40-odd horses here, the best.

-Working hard, yeah.

And you're trying flax oil on your horses. Why?

I feel that the flax oil has been a massive help in the yard.

The flax oils get into their system. They bring their coats out.

Some animals might be a bit funny in their feeding.

And the digestive system really works for it.

When horses get really trained up to a high level, they stop eating.

So, the fitter the horses get, the less they want to eat.

And they love this oil. I mean, they lick their bowls. They actually do.

That's all our international horses are on it.

Of course, the rider on those cross-country courses

has got to have a bit of stamina too.

You had a little sip, have you?

I've nearly been tempted, to be honest.

-So, if there's a human version?

-Absolutely.

-Straight on to it right away.

-Would you?

-Absolutely.

You'd have a glossy coat, your performance would be outstanding.

-Absolutely. My wife will be glad to hear.

-I'm sure she'd be delighted.

'So that's two impressive testimonials for Jim.

'However, I'm still concerned

'that he might be backing the wrong horse.

'Would a nutritionist and a health food distributor prove me wrong?'

I've got a few issues. I want you to put my mind at rest.

You're a scientist, a nutritionist. You know this market backwards.

What are the benefits of flax oil in the human market?

Flax oil is a good product.

I think that there's a lot of fish oil products out there at the minute

which are a really good source of omega-3.

But not everybody wants to take fish oil, for lots of different reasons.

People who maybe are vegetarian.

Maybe people who have issues about the taste of fish oils, for example.

So, I think there is a market for flax seed oil.

Because omega-3 is really important.

People are a bit scared of fat,

but oil and fat is so important in our diet.

It's anti-inflammatory, it helps with cholesterol balance,

it helps to support a healthy blood pressure.

So, from my point of view, anything that improves the omega-3 intake

through our diet has got to be a positive thing.

So they've built their production thing, it's pumping out flax oil.

Now what? How do we get it to market?

Well, I think if there was a consumer demand

for a bottled flax seed product,

they would want to know about marketing support, want to know

what is different about this product to anything else.

And the bottom line question is, what's the retail price point

and, obviously, their margin?

So, a combination of packaging, brand, great margin.

-Sort of eases the pain a bit, doesn't it?

-Absolutely.

And if everything there is fair, and there's a decent margin,

you reckon we can make a go of it?

I think there is still growth in the omega-3 market.

But the market here is relatively small

and they may have to consider expanding the horizons.

OK. So, Jane, you've got quite a glossy head of hair there.

What are you on, fish oil or flax oil?

Well, honestly? Fish oil.

Yeah, well, that's because we're not in the market yet.

What about you? You're not quite as glossy as Jane.

No, no. Fish oil.

You wait, wait until I let Jim Magill loose on you.

You'll be a convert in minutes, I promise you. He's an evangelist.

'OK, so it seems there IS a market for the human flax oil after all.

'But it's small, and may be outside Northern Ireland.

'Is Jim's blind faith losing him cash converts?

'Has this mild-mannered evangelist got what it takes

'to conquer a new market?

'And why expand in a new direction

'when the equine market has not yet been exhausted? It's time to talk.'

See, what I'm see is that there are two of you.

It's not as though you can lift the phone

and ring the marketing department on the 15th floor.

It's not as though you can ring the finance department on the 16th floor

and say, "I want you to budget for this launch into the human market."

-True. We haven't got the...

-There's two of you.

And what worries me a bit is you're doing well on the equine market.

I'm concerned that, before you've really got up to speed on that,

you're now going to be distracted by a far more complex market

which is the human market,

and yet there's all that scope left in the equine market.

So I just wonder whether the timing's right.

But having said that, I was under the impression that

your diversification into the human type of flax oil product

was some sort of crazy adventure. But I was wrong

because I've come up with some interesting products

that feed exactly into what you want to do.

For instance, milled flax seed, almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts,

and Q10, which does all the right things, on the market already.

-Yes. A good product.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

My argument might be dented slightly, but it's not destroyed.

There are two of you. And what concerns me is that

you take your eye off the equine market

in order to plunge all your energies into the human market.

And the danger of that is actually that the equine market falters

and, I think, Jim Magill, you're an evangelist.

You want to do this, not just for the money, but you believe in it.

But because I love the horses so much,

I'm going to take some of your flax oil for the horses

and I'm going to test it with some pals who have a couple of racehorses

and then I'll be back to talk to you.

-That'd be great, I look forward to it.

-OK.

-Thank you.

Jim claims his flax oil can deliver in six to eight weeks.

So, I've arranged for racehorse trainer Caroline de Montmorency

to put these claims to the test. I'll catch up with her later.

Jim's messianic zeal won't be enough to sell his human flax oil.

He needs a strong brand,

so I've arranged for him to meet a couple of design consultants.

That's the product we make at the moment.

-And this is for horses?

-For horses, yes.

The business is growing in the horse and the equine world.

And moving forward, the application for humans.

Moving forward, the application for this is for humans, yes.

-And is there a taste with it?

-It's like a nutty taste.

It doesn't contain any nuts, but that's what it's like,

a nice, nutty taste, whenever it's done right.

-Do you feel frisky now, Kenney?

-THEY LAUGH

HE WHIMPERS LIKE A HORSE No!

Your hair's growing, Kenney!

There's not even an aftertaste with it.

No, that's a big part of it.

People have the taste of taking fish oil.

And you have that sort of, you know, there's not that tendency in it.

'Let's hope the flax oil will fuel their designs

'for the brave new brand.'

-Next stage is just making it real.

-Yeah.

'Not even a strong brand can help Jim until he's in production.

'And nine weeks after our first meeting,

'there's still no sign of the promised plant.'

We've ran into some problems with different things,

things just not coming together.

But, hopefully, they're all sorted now and we'll have the digger in.

Supposed to be here today but he'll be here tomorrow.

We're OK for time so far. But we'll need to be pushing on to get it up.

'Jim must be feeling the pressure.'

Not particularly, I don't get under pressure.

'With the way things are going, it's just as well!'

It's late April, and I'm back in Northern Ireland

and heading to Tyrella beach near Downpatrick, County Down

to catch up with the Magills.

I've arranged for them to come

to a tri-eventing competition here in Tyrella,

with the aim of maximising their equine flax oil sales.

That is the very heartland of their market.

Hi, how are you?

Yeah, this is the best kept secret in the equine world.

Grown here and made here.

-There is an actual picture of it growing in the field.

-Right, OK.

-How are you?

-How are you, Nick?

-Good to see you again.

-Mr Hewer, how are you?

-I'm very well. It's Nick!

-How are you?

-You good?

-Yes.

-What do you call this?

-This is Flaxeen.

-This is a new product, is it? Flaxeen? Again, equine.

-Yes.

Good, I'm glad to see you're really sticking with the equine market.

That's really where your strength is, isn't it?

So, presumably this is all coming out of your new production facility?

Not as yet, no. That's a work-in-progress.

-A work-in-progress?

-Yes.

-Oh, dear.

And where is the progress, or lack of progress? What was the problem?

Getting the I's dotted and the T's crossed.

Is it? It's a finance thing, or people dragging their heels?

Financing, among other things.

But when do you reckon that it'll be up and running?

We're hoping to be up and running end of June.

'Yet another deadline missed for the human flax oil plant.

'Just as well the Magills are equine energised.'

Any humans coming over, saying, "Can I have a taste?"

-Yes, oh, yes, indeed, yes.

-Right.

I'll be in touch with you two. I'll be in touch shortly.

-OK.

-Thank you.

'So, no new plant, that's disappointing.

'Still, there's a new equine product.

'Time for me to check in on Caroline's horse trials.'

Caroline, you've tried my flax oil.

How are you getting on with your horses?

I have to say, I love it. The horses love it.

And I think they're looking great.

I did my own little mini-experiment with him.

This is a little horse called Carlanstown.

He's been on the point-to-point scene now for a few years.

I always get him regularly checked by a chiropractor

who comes and stays here.

And he, funnily enough, stayed last night, and looked at him today,

and said he's in better shape than he's known him for a very long time.

Is that right? But is there a difference?

Not just in appearance, but are they picking up a bit?

Are you beginning to win?

He's been second and third, we're getting there.

-So are you going to stick with it?

-I will stick with it.

Definitely will stick with it.

Anything else? What else is happening?

I've definitely noticed in our dogs who are crazy for it.

They are straight into the feed buckets.

It's all I can do to get the food into the mangers.

Now this is a new thing.

And it's not as though they were doing that beforehand.

No, it's not like they're hungry. They love it, absolutely love it.

I have a big lurcher, and he's getting older now.

-And he's in great shape.

-He's moving better?

He's moving well. He's got a good coat and charging around the place.

So, you reckon dogs? I'm going to get on to Jim Magill, Dogs R Us.

There's a big market. People will spend on dogs.

-Yeah, dogs it is.

-Dogs R Us!

-Dogs it is!

'Equine to canine, that's real diversification.

'So, back in my manor, I pause to call Jim Magill,

'and bring him canine enlightenment.'

-PHONE RINGS

-Hello?

-Jim.

-'Yes.'

-Jim, it's Nick, how are you?

-How are you? Keeping well, Nick?

Not bad. Listen, Jim, when we last spoke, I took some of your flax oil.

Do you remember? I said I was going to give it to a friend of mine

-'who's got a racehorse.'

-Yes.

'And I did so. The horse loves it.'

But the one who loves it best of all is her dog!

And she fights over the flax oil bowl with the horse.

-Yeah.

-So, I suddenly lit up and I thought, "Here's an opportunity."

So, I've fixed for you to go and see a pet shop retailer

where they sell all the things that pets want, including dog food

and dog food additives. That's your new business, Jim.

I've arranged a meeting for Jim here at Jollyes,

one of the largest chains of pet stores in the United Kingdom.

I want to find out if there's a market for canine flax oil products

to complement his booming equine business.

I want to see how Jim sells that idea.

We produce a flax oil for horses,

and we're thinking of bringing out an omega-3 product for pets as well.

This is the sort of product we're thinking of, the like of this here.

This is just made up for today just to show you where we're coming from.

The benefits in all our animals are coats, shining coats.

-OK.

-I think there would be a big application for the showing dogs,

you know, er...

..especially in joint and mobility,

it would be a big, big benefit as well.

'Put a bit of bounce into it, Jim! Unleash your inner salesman.'

Would there be much of a market for it within Jollyes

-and even the wider pet world?

-We do one product in store

currently, which is flax seed oil.

It's a smaller 250ml bottle,

but we don't a lot of volume in that product.

We're not doing big numbers.

It doesn't mean to say you can't do big numbers in it.

I think if you had a more competitive price.

Perhaps getting the word out about what flax seed can do for the dogs.

And maybe a little bit of support from yourself, in-store demos,

coming in, talking to the customers as well.

-Hopefully, we can... we can do business.

-Yeah.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

I thought that the pitch, frankly, Jim, to the buyer,

it was a bit lukewarm.

I just wonder if you're really behind the canine thing?

There's a lot more dogs than horses, you know.

Interestingly, he said that they're stocking a like sort of product.

And I picked one up, actually, in the medical section.

This is for sick animals. We are for healthy animals.

-Who we're going to keep healthier.

-Exactly.

So, my idea, really, is,

and we learnt this from the lady with the horse, Caroline,

is her dogs were barging the horse out of the way to get at the feed.

So, what does that tell us?

You put it next to dog food. Dog food, particularly adult dog food

because, in this context, adult actually means elderly.

And what happens to old dogs? They get joint problems.

And what I'd like to think is we could produce, or you could produce

a free-standing unit here, next to the dog food which is expensive.

-There's dog food down there, 15kg, 55 quid.

-Yeah.

I guess one in 100 people coming here go to the medical cabinet.

Everybody comes to buy their dog food

and that's where you should position your product. Yes?

I agree with you, totally.

With Jim in total agreement yet again,

it's time to see a man about a dog.

So, Keith, you're known as the dog guru, and not without good reason.

You've grown up with dogs, dogs is now your career, your life.

You breed, you train, and all the rest of it.

And, recently, from what you've been telling me,

-this 11-year-old dog, you started her on flax oil.

-Yes.

Any discernible difference?

A massive difference.

I mean, the thing about Beau is that I want her to live forever

but, obviously, that's not going to happen.

Like myself, she's getting a little bit older.

And the one thing I've noticed of late this last 12 months,

she's got very stiff in the morning.

Since feeding her with flax oil, that's totally gone.

She does have some arthritic tendencies.

I was feeding her glucosamine supplements, stuff like that.

I stopped all that, and the difference is unbelievable.

There's no stiffness whatsoever, which is absolutely fantastic.

And seeing the marked difference in Beau,

I will definitely be feeding it to all the dogs now.

I must say, she looks terrific, actually.

I'm actually thinking of taking it myself.

-There's such a marked difference in Beau!

-Get a glossy beard!

Mind you, my hips are beginning to go. What do you think?

It would be a good choice.

Enough about us.

You've talked the talk, let's see if Beau can walk the walk.

-Let's see her in action.

-OK. Beau, heel.

Beau, back.

Her energy level is unbelievable. She's like a pup.

HE WHISTLES

Back.

You can still see the age round her face but, physically

and her energy levels, she's like a young dog again.

Sit, sit, sit. Good girl.

-You can see yourself.

-It's wonderful.

-For an old girl.

-She's retired now.

-She's retired, but I might bring her back out.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

She can definitely compete with the young dogs again.

Look at that, Beau. You're going back to work.

I know what it feels like to be in retirement,

then to be dragged back into the office. Poor old thing.

'But will Jim Magill be wagging his tail when my brand boys reveal

'their new designs for the human flax oil product?'

What we want to do today is to talk about brand,

and how we can build a brand for you,

that takes in a logo, takes in your packaging,

takes in a message about our company.

We have looked at different names.

Some of them are challenging, some of them are quite straightforward.

Amber Soul. It's "feel good inside with Amber Soul",

how that could look applied to packaging,

and how that would work then on a bottle format.

We've touched here on a website, for example,

how it could be applied very simply as a graphic to a website.

That gives you a fabulous opportunity to educate your customer

on the benefits of the product as well.

We can't do it all on the pack.

-Next name, slightly different.

-Vitam.

-Which is the Latin for life.

Vitam, nature's source of goodness.

Glo, a very simple word. It's all about natural joy.

Oir, Irish for gold. And oirflax.com is available.

It's a wee bit more abstract.

Natu.

Just crunch a few words together

just to try and get that uniqueness again. Natu.

So, again, tell our story.

Nature's goodness of the soil,

a source of omega-3, 6 and 9.

That's our short list of names.

If there's a particular style of packaging we think works really well,

we can still mix and match that with the actual names.

Great line. So thanks for that.

I think, the point now, Jim, is go home.

Don't start snatching at things.

Immerse yourself in this good work, and think about it.

And then pick one for the right reasons, and go with it.

I'm off to see Jim Magill for the very last time,

and I'm very keen to see his new plant in action.

But, first, I'm heading to Jollyes pet store

where Jim's canine product is on trial

and I'm praying he'll impress.

The last time Jim pitched to Jollyes,

it was frankly a lacklustre performance.

So, let's hope that this afternoon has got a nice gloss to it.

A bit of a shine.

This is a high omega-3 product for your dog.

-It's actually cold-pressed flax oil.

-OK.

It's a very high omega-3 product.

It's 58.5 to 63% omega-3. Very good for coat and joints.

That's about 5% of what it's doing inside the body.

-They find it very beneficial.

-OK, I'll give it a go.

Jim Magill has got his new product, his canine flax oil product,

into Jollyes, on trial.

And it's my first opportunity to have a look at the packaging.

I've got to say, I am slightly disappointed.

Old-fashioned but, more than that, in a way.

All we've ever talked about with Jim is flax oil, flax oil, flax oil

and the benefit it gives.

Yes, it gives omega-3, 6, 9.

But where's flax oil on here? Whoa! Look, it's stuck down there.

I think he's missed a trick, I really do. That's his USP.

So I think, perhaps, it's time for a little bit of a redesign

promoting flax oil on the packaging

before this product gets too well established.

I'm showing a product today, DogXcel. It's very, very palatable.

-If we had a wee dish, would you mind trying?

-No. Go on ahead.

You just put a wee drop in.

About 10ml a day would be sufficient for them.

-DOG OWNER GASPS

-They really go for it.

Packaging aside, it's thumbs and paws up for the canine product.

All that's left for me now is to see his new plant up and running.

-This is the new production facility for the human flax oil product?

-Yes.

It doesn't look as thought there's too much going on in there.

You've got the structure.

Is this the equipment in there, in boxes?

The equipment just arrived yesterday.

I've yet to see any of these things going smoothly.

-I'd say we were approximately six weeks behind.

-Really?

-Yeah.

So, for the moment, anyway, it's a dead stop on the human stuff?

No. We're still developing it. We're still working on.

We're not in production, that's the truth of it.

What happened on the branding side?

We went off and saw the people, did you pick a brand?

-We picked a brand, we picked Natu. It's getting branded.

-Registered?

-Registered.

-OK, all right.

So, for the moment, anyway, this is stalled.

But, listen, you've still got your equine business which is strong.

And I want to tell you, whilst you've been beavering away here,

-I've not exactly been sitting around doing nothing.

-That's good.

I've been working for you,

and I have got two letters here you're going to be delighted about.

-I've got a letter from the Billy Stud. You've heard of them?

-Yes.

One of the largest studs.

Hundreds of horses being bred for the sport horse market.

And they have said,

"We would be very interested to trial this product

"on our home-bred horses."

He goes on to say his reputation is built on breeding and producing

quality sport horses, so they don't take these sort of trials lightly.

Another one, the West Kingston Stud, WKS.

Tessa Clarke, the stud manager, says,

"We also would be willing to trial the said product

"on some of our home-bred horses."

And they too say, "We don't take on these things lightly."

So, these two operations, they're formidable operators in the UK

and they're known globally, they sell globally.

And, as they sell horses,

make sure the horses are sold with your product to the new owners.

And so it goes on, the marketing never stops, it never stops.

Until Jim gets his new plant up and running,

human flax oil is but an evangelical dream.

But, in the meantime, he's got his equine and his canine flax oil.

And, if he gets the sales, marketing and branding right,

Mount Mills could just deliver liquid gold.

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