Shoot for the Stars and you may hit the Moon

As described in last month’s blog, in the early days of Wyke Farms, all our cheddar was sold through the Farmhouse Cheesemakers Cooperative. This Cooperative distributed most of the Farmhouse Cheddar made by smaller farmers in Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire. Even then, the number of these farmers had dwindled to about eighty-five from around three thousand, which was the number when my mother first became fascinated by the ‘magic’ of Cheddar making.

This magic, as I call it, was what initially drew me into making Cheddar and later into selling it. This was the first turning point for our family business and eventually led us to supply Cheddar to over 160 countries, as we do now.

There were many critical points along the way to success, not least my initial exploits into selling with my cheese iron and pickup truck. After several years of selling by myself and with Geoff James, our first professional salesperson, I realised we needed to aim much higher to succeed in the long term.

"Shoot for the stars and you may hit the moon," as the old saying goes. I did shoot for the stars in my next choice of a professional Sales Director. I had admired the skills of Richard Barnes since I first met him. Richard was already the Sales Director of Horlicks Farms Cheese, a company based in Ilminster, owned by Beecham Foods, a large conglomerate.

I knew it would be difficult to lure Richard away from Horlicks Farms as he was very happy in his work, but I was determined to get him on board because I was convinced, he had the selling skill set our family business desperately needed at that stage of development. By the end of the 1970s, we were growing our production of quality Cheddar quite quickly and needed someone with the same vision for the future. Fortunately, Richard and I shared the same ambition. After much discussion, persuasion, and consultation, Richard became Wyke Farms' first Sales Director in 1980. I was delighted!

Next time, I'll share the memorable moments that marked our journey to success and how we gradually caught the eye of the larger Cheddar makers, that transformed our humble beginnings into a global success story!

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