"It doesn't get fresher than us": Mobile greengrocer adds new Derbyshire pop-up location as business grows
A family-run Derbyshire mobile greengrocer saw customers flock to their latest pop-up location this week as the business grows from strength to strength.
The Howell’s Fruit and Veg trailer parked up at the Three Horseshoes in Brimington for the first time on Wednesday, January 22, and proved as instantly popular with customers as it has in other locations since the business launched last year.
Corey Howell, 29, who runs the shop with wife Lauren, said: “The reaction was fantastic. People absolutely loved it. The feedback we hear is that customers are always wanting fresher fruit and veg than they can get at the supermarket.
“You don’t get fresher than us and there’s nowhere else offering that in Brimington. We’ve had lots of positive comments on Facebook straight away. People have been raving about us.”
He added: “Customers like being able to pull up in their car wherever we are, get everything they need within 15 minutes and get away again.
“We don’t charge for carrier bags and give any help they need, and if we get a good price on something we’ll pass those savings on to the customer rather than take more profit.”
The couple now have a full weekly tour itinerary including Staveley market on Tuesdays, Denby Lodge on Thursday mornings followed by Inkersall in the afternoon, the Steampacket in Swanwick on Fridays, then the Tupton Tap on Saturdays.
The shop is usually open from 8am until early afternoon, and also offers home delivery in the communities around each pop-up.
The Brimington location was offered by the landlord of the Three Horseshoes after the Howells put out an appeal for new sites via their Facebook page, which has built a following of more than 1,000 customers looking for updates on the latest seasonal stock.
The Howells work with two long-established family farms in Lincolnshire to collect produce direct from the field each week, alongside free range duck and chicken eggs, staple imports like bananas and the latest arrivals into UK ports.
Corey said: “TikTok went absolutely crazy for dragon fruit recently and the kids couldn’t get it anywhere but we had that, and other things that can be hard to find – seedless water melons, papaya, even marrows which you can’t really get in supermarkets now. As soon as something comes into stock, we’ll have them.”
There has been a lot to learn along the way for the Howells, who previously ran their own removals company based Sutton-in-Ashfield, and juggle work with raising their two primary aged children.
Corey said: “We’d never been in this industry and a year ago I barely knew a courgette from a cucumber, but I woke up one morning and fancied being a greengrocer so I did it. I had a friend who’d been in the trade for 28 years and he passed on his contacts.
“I really enjoy dealing with the customers, having a bit of banter, and offering them something that’s going to last. It won’t be going in the bin and wasting money within a day or so.
“It’s quality food at a reasonable price, and it tastes like food. It’s not been processed or kept in a fridge for weeks before it goes on the shelf.”
He added: “The most challenging part is keeping up with the seasons and everything else. It’s a 24/7 business, we’re making calls to our wholesalers late at night for deliveries arriving at 4am. It just doesn’t stop with food, you have to keep moving to keep fresh.”
For more details on the shop’s locations and latest offers follow the page on Facebook at https://tinyurl.com/yc4cuhh6.