Farming is only part of the story. For fifth generation farmer Andrew Gibson, the family business combines traditional agriculture with a thriving farm shop and café that relies on some of the freshest produce available. Making the early hours journey to New Covent Garden Market (NCGM) twice a week, Andrew sources fruit, vegetables and flowers to complement the meat and potatoes produced on the family’s 200-year-old farm. Built out of passion for seasonal, quality food, Gibson’s Farm has grown into Kent’s largest farm shop.

Above: Fifth generation farmer Andrew Gibson runs a thriving farm shop and café that relies on some of the freshest produce from wholesalers at NCGM.

Based in Wingham, near Canterbury, Kent, Andrew’s family has been farming for 200 years and supplies all the beef, pork and potatoes for the farm shop. The 300-acre farm is home to 300 free-range pigs, 120 cattle and grows 2,000 tonnes of potatoes a year. Andrew’s family has visited NCGM for more than 50 years; weekly visits since their farm shop opened in 2006. “My father visited the Fruit and Vegetable Market for around 35 years, and I’ve been coming for the last 16,” explains Andrew.  “The farm shop is the newest part of the business,” he adds, revealing that the shop only opened to the public during the summer months at first, selling just apples and soft fruit. “The turning point was when my father and grandparents were offered a few bags of onions to sell by a neighbouring farmer,” says Andrew. “Demand grew and we quickly shifted from bringing a van to a lorry for our multiple weekly visits.”  The farm’s redevelopment in 2010 saw construction of a new café and shop, incorporating a bakery, butchery, and florist. “We’ve grown quickly,” says Andrew, “and we’re now the largest farm shop in Kent, employing 55 people. UK and local produce are our passions, and we support more than 100 UK suppliers. From local wines, beers and ciders to jams and ice cream, we’ve got it all.”

New Buyers’ Walk is impressive
Andrew highlights the new Buyers’ Walk as a fantastic addition to the Market, making his visits much easier. “It’s light and clean, and everything is accessible,” he says, adding: “It’s somewhere to be very proud of and I’m delighted to be a regular customer.”  He purchases 90% of the fresh produce sold in the shop from NCGM, with staples including all the veggies needed for a traditional roast dinner: parsnips, carrots, and Brussels sprouts at Christmas. “Demand changes depending on the time of year and seasonality is very important to us,” he says. To put it simply, when produce is in season - with an abundant, quality crop - then prices go down and the shop can offer better value and keep customers happy. “Summer sees beautiful Nutbourne tomatoes bought through Supreme Salads, which are really popular with our customers,” says Andrew. “Throughout the winter months Spanish citrus fruit is always a customer favourite, especially new season Nadorcotts, from Bevington Salads. Because the produce is so good, we make big displays of it in the shop, with sample tasters, to encourage people to try something new. When we know a product is good at a specific time of year, we’ll really push it.”

Relationships with wholesalers
As anyone who visits the Market already knows, having a great relationship with your wholesalers is a key to open a lot of doors. “I’ve been able to build my relationships through common interests such as rugby, skiing or shooting, which means we all go the extra mile to help each other,” says Andrew. “If lines are short, I get a call to put some aside. If I need additional produce, much of this can be arranged at short notice - they are more than happy to go the extra mile to keep me happy. My customers demand their produce is the freshest and of the highest quality.”  Andrew’s seen huge growth in both his shop and café businesses over the last five years or so, with customers asking more questions about the provenance of their food and taking a real interest in the processes involved to get it to the shop. “Covid was a terrible time for many people, but what it did do was expose the complicated supply chains of the major supermarkets,” says Andrew. “As a result of that, it brought a lot of customers to our shop, and many of those people have continued to shop with us. Jeremy Clarkson’s TV show ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ has also helped greatly, by giving viewers an understanding of how tough farming is. I believe this has brought more customers through our door.”

Above: Andrew visits NCGM twice weekly to stock up for his Kent farm shop and café.

A ‘local’ first approach 
Andrew’s approach is to purchase local whenever he can, followed by British, then European produce in that order. Sometimes he has to buy things from further afield, but he’ll always try and push seasonal produce based on its locality. “We push hard for the English asparagus season and purple sprouting broccoli in the spring,” he says. “We’re seeing restaurateurs working in partnership with their suppliers and recommending, for example, British asparagus and how they can include it within their menus. If you eat seasonal, your food miles are much lower.”  Andrew says his farm shop customers are surprised to find out how he sources his fresh produce, in particular how he goes the extra mile to get up in the middle of the night to visit NCGM to ensure the best quality. “I speak to our customers about visiting NCGM at 1am and some people know already, while some don’t even realise there’s a market trading during the night,” he laughs. “They say ‘What, you go up to London in the middle of the night?’. It’s quite a shock to them. So, every now and then we will post a picture of our lorry saying: ‘This weekend we’ve been up in the night to get you the freshest produce from New Covent Garden’. It’s nice for people to see all the product on the lorry and helps paint a picture for people that we’re going over and above to get the best produce for their plate.”

Visit NCGM for the very best produce
Travelling from Kent to Nine Elms twice a week isn’t easy, especially arriving on Buyers’ Walk at 1am, but when you want the very best, Andrew says only NCGM produce will do. “Our customers demand the best of the best and that’s why we visit the Fruit and Vegetable Market and Flower Market multiple times each week.” With flowers and plants making up 10% of the shop’s sales, Andrew employs three full-time florists. “We sell cut flowers and pot plants at the shop, so NCGM works really well for us because we can get everything we need,” he says.

Supplying the Market
Andrew is also a supplier to NCGM, delivering Gibson’s branded red and white potatoes exclusively to Supreme Salads, which then sells them to a number of wholesalers. Andrew praises traders at NCGM for giving him an opportunity to market his potatoes, meaning his lorry carries produce in both directions and helps generate a positive return for the farm. “It’s something we’ve grown more over the last six or seven years,” he explains. “We put our own washing plant in to wash the potatoes six years ago. And we’ve doubled our acreage from 40 acres to about 80 acres. With the investment in the washing plant, we’re expanding the potato farm and have plans to introduce a thousand-tonne cold store this year to help keep the potatoes better, meaning they retain their quality and arrive to customers in a better condition.”  It’s a significant investment in machinery: the washing plant cost £70,000 and Andrew’s spending another £300,000 this year for the new cold store. But, it’s an investment in the future, he explains: “It’s a lot of money but we’re thinking long-term. As farmers, we’re not in it for the short term. It’s always a legacy thing for our kids and we’re looking at the next 20 years. We’re not trying to earn a quick buck. If you spend thousands you say, okay, that’s going to last us 25 years. You’re spreading that cost out down the line. We’re looking forward to the next generation.”

Above: Andrew sells his Gibson’s branded red and white potatoes exclusively to Supreme Salads at NCGM.

Full English breakfast bestseller
Gibson’s Farm café is a popular destination, with Andrew estimating he sells more than 25,000 breakfasts each year. “A full English is one of the most popular items on our breakfast Educating the next generation menu,” he adds. “Full English, yes, but better quality. It’s like farmhouse dining done well, really. It’s nothing fancy, just good, honest food. We’ve got our own sausages on there, we’ve got free-range eggs, plus really good bacon. The tomatoes and mushrooms come from NCGM. Because we’ve got a few different departments, we can keep our fruit and veg display here really fresh as we’re turning things over and using things really well, which helps. By buying from NCGM so regularly, it keeps the shelves rejuvenated, looking good, and it gives our customers the freshest product.”

Protesting to protect the supply chain
It’s been well documented that life for British farmers hasn’t been easy over the past few years, but Andrew sees positive changes on the horizon. “My brother and I started the first protest down in Dover about two and a half years ago,” recalls Andrew. “We’ve continued to be part of the farmers’ protests in London,” he explains. “The public can see how difficult farming is, and the huge costs involved with no guarantee of a successful crop at the end of the year. I think there’s a push back from people, with more discerning customers visiting decent food shops or farm shops like ours. Our customers really care about what they’re eating, what’s on their plate, the food miles and the traceability and what’s in it. "The number one thing we need as people is food. You should rely on your own country and have the strongest agricultural sector you could possibly have. It’s counter intuitive, isn’t it? You’d think that food security and being able to be self-sufficient would be one of the top priorities.”

Educating the next generation
Making sure children understand where their food comes from is another message Andrew’s keen to push. Gibson’s Farm arranges visits for local schools and is looking to increase that. “We’re really keen on primary school visits so that we can educate the kids and show them around the farm,” says Andrew. “It’s important to get them to understand where their food comes from, educate them a bit, get them involved with it, get their hands in some crops, so they can really understand what’s going on. The food just doesn’t come from a supermarket. Giving back means a lot to us. When we built this farm shop, my brother said it’s really important to educate people, and it’s something we want to continue doing. We’ve had discussions with the National Farmers’ Union around this, people’s education around food, where it comes from, low food miles, trying to buy British, and trying to get seasonal produce on Britain’s menus.”

Looking ahead
With energy and fuel costs spiralling over the last few years, the cost of doing business has increased for everyone, but Andrew remains confident his strong relationships with Market wholesalers will help navigate the stormy waters. “We have undoubtedly got a tough time ahead, as our business costs have increased greatly,” he says, adding: “We have to strive to get better and make sure we shout about how good we are. A great relationship with NCGM will help continue to raise standards for our shop and for our loyal customers. Traders at the Market really help educate and push people’s knowledge of food further and we’re glad to be a part of their ecosystem.”