Food provenance pioneer Happerley has unveiled plans to create the country’s first national centre dedicated to food and drink transparency.
The project aims to build an independent food and leisure destination — Happerley England — in Castle Quay, Banbury, to give farmers, suppliers and producers the opportunity to showcase their products bearing the Happerley Gold Standard, a marque given to producers who are able to name the exact source of their main ingredients for any given product.
All Happerley England products will be instantly traceable back to specific farms or fishing boats in a bid to help combat the food fraud that costs the UK billions of pounds each year.
“Happerley England is a focus, a celebration and a centre for the very finest food and drinks that have complete provenance,” explains Happerley founder and CEO, Matthew Rymer. “In too many cases the consumer is being misled, and to my mind it should be a basic right and expectation for the consumer to know where the food and drink they’ve purchased has come from.
“The reality of food production is being smoke-screened; you’d be surprised how many brands do not want to identify their supply chain. Happerley England stands for delivering honesty and communicating that on behalf of everyone; it’s a beacon of transparency.”
The plans were unveiled at an event hosted by TV presenter and farmer Adam Henson.
“This was a grassroots idea from a farmer who’s got incredible vision and the momentum has gained a very fast pace to get to where it is today at this magnificent launch,” said Henson at the launch. “This is a legacy for Happerley — even if a business can’t turn Happerley Transparent straight away, it stimulates conversation and that is so important. This will pull the whole of society together.”
L to R: Adam Henson, Matthew Rymer
