We help make your picnic so perfect!
Eating alfresco in the sunshine has never been more joyous, thanks to these clever women
These inspirational businesswomen will have you packing up a hamper in no time
‘Prince Harry ate our cheese on his wedding day’
After a bright idea to transform her family’s dairy farm, Dulcie Crickmore, 35, from Bungay, Suffolk, is ‘milking’ her success.
‘On warm summer days, there’s nothing I love more than a picnic. After climbing the steep grassy bank that overlooks our farm in rural Suffolk with my husband Jonny and our young children, Arthur, six, and Ottilie, four, we sit on a tartan blanket at the top of the hill. As we munch on delicious sandwiches made with cheese from our farm and look down at the cows below, I know that everything I need is right here.
This farm has been part of Jonny’s family for 80 years, and we sold milk to supermarkets via big processing plants.
Six years ago, Jonny and I decided we needed to make a change. Selling milk commercially was starting to feel soulless, and we were inspired when we saw a chicken-shaped stall by the roadside selling free-range eggs to passersby. When the stall holder told us that he was making £500 a week from his little ‘side-hustle’ selling higher quality products direct to consumers, we realised we could do something similar with what we already had – raw milk.
Raw milk means it’s come straight from the farm and hasn’t been heattreated to kill the micro-organisms. The milk, cream, cheese and butter it makes has more flavour and is more nutritious, because the vitamins aren’t destroyed in the heating process. Modern farming techniques and cleanliness also mean it’s much safer to drink now. We’d always used our raw product at home, and the kids love pancakes made with raw buttermilk. We saw a gap in the market, and an idea was born.
NEW BEGINNINGS
We started off small, buying a garden shed and painting it black and white, like a cow. We put a fridge containing 10 bottles of milk inside and adorned them with labels we designed ourselves. We opened it up to the local community, and within two hours all the bottles were gone. The last customer guzzled his entire bottle in front of us before asking us to refill it! Soon, we were selling up to 100 litres a day for £1 a litre, inspiring us to expand our range of products. We created Bungay Raw Butter and a raw milk version of Brie, which we called Baron Bigod, all under the brand name Fen Farm Dairy.
It became increasingly hard to juggle everything, so I quit my job as a TV and theatre costume designer to focus on the farm’s marketing. I worked with designer friends to create our distinctive packaging, which features a stamp of a local landmark – the ‘Butter Cross’ in the centre of Bungay, where farmers used to trade their dairy produce. I set up an Instagram account, too, because it’s so important that our customers feel like they’re joining us on our journey.
INCREDIBLE GROWTH
We began selling through the artisan store Neal’s Yard Dairy in London, who loved our products so much they helped get us into stockists around the UK, so everyone – including city dwellers – can enjoy them. We’ve had some memorable moments since, and we were thrilled when Baron Bigod was chosen to be eaten by Princes William and Harry on the morning of Harry’s wedding.
The growth is amazing, our turnover has increased dramatically year-on-year and we’re building a new cheesemaking facility three times bigger than our current one to meet demand. We pour so much love and energy into our products – it’s wonderful to know people think they are the cream of the crop!’ • fenfarmdairy.co.uk