Despite fears that the Island is filling with faceless UK chain stores, Genuine Jersey Members are doing all they can to buck this trend.
There has been a flurry of businesses that proudly display the Genuine Jersey mark opening shops and outlets across Jersey, including the heart of St Helier.
It is evidence of growing confidence in retail in Jersey and the desire to buy locally sourced and produced food, drink and craft.
A survey published earlier this year revealed that a third of local residents said that seeing the Genuine Jersey logo would ‘definitely’ make them more likely to buy the product. This was up from 23% in 2010. It also showed that 33% of visitors said that seeing the Genuine Jersey logo would ‘exert a strong influence on their product choice’.
Genuine Jersey Members who have opened outlets in the last six months include:
Flavour.je on the Esplanade
Elke Jacques opened Flavour.je at 9 The Esplanade in February. It is a kitchen café that sells a wide range of homemade food including soups, wraps, salads, rolls, breads, scotch eggs, ‘power eggs’, cakes and other sweet treats. Elke started her business by supplying soup to farm shops and the Co-op as well as from pop-up kiosks and a winter soup-bar. But as the business grew, so it needed a permanent home. Since February, Flavour.je’s customer base has grown exponentially week-on-week and business has gone ‘swimmingly’. Elke has since recruited chefs as well as sales staff. An integral ethos of Flavour.je is to support local suppliers and growers, many of whom are Genuine Jersey Members themselves.
A Little Something at Havre des Pas
Kim Wink’s craft shop has been opened at Havre des Pas for two months. She not only sells her own crafts, including cushions, bunting and soft furnishings, but also the work of other Genuine Jersey members, including Lisa Le Brocq and Rosemary Blackmore. Kim also now sells her own personalised wooden signs. Kim used to sell her products at Genuine Jersey markets and other events but decided that a shop was the obviously next step. She still works as a risk manager in a bank in the mornings so is supported in the shop by one of her best friends, Wendy Briddon. Kim had a lot of support in establishing the shop from friends and family, including fellow Genuine Jersey Member Jane James. Kim actually worked in Jane’s Gorey shop for five months to gain retail experience. Kim says that customer feedback since opening has been overwhelmingly positive from visitors and locals alike.
Cocorico in the Central Market
Sébastien Perrais has run a successful creperie in Broad Street, and before that in Hilgrove Street, for a number of years but he has recently opened a new shop in the Central Market. Breton Sébastien, who is also known for his mobile ‘CocoCarte’ in King Street, serves a range of quintessential French fare, including crêpes, galettes and patisseries, but he is a Genuine Jersey member specifically for his colourful macaroons. With the opening of the new café, Sébastien is extending his range of macaroons, which are made with local ingredients, to introduce new flavours.
Mellow Yellow in St Aubin
David Pallot is well-known in the Island for Pallot’s Wonders, selling the traditional sweet Jersey delicacy at fairs and markets from his distinctive yellow van. Although this side of the business will continue, David and his wife Phyllis have now put down permanent roots, opening Mellow Yellow in St Aubin. The crêperie / coffee shop opened a month ago and business is going very well. It serves sandwiches, crêpes and galettes as well as David’s famous wonders. All ingredients are locally sourced, many from other Genuine Jersey Members including Classic Herd, Happy Hens and Fauvic Nurseries.
Juice4Life in Colomberie
Sue Wallace founded Juice4Life last year. It began as an e-commerce business, with Sue selling fresh and healthy juices and delivering them to homes and businesses in Jersey. She has been a passionate advocate of juicing – to cleanse and energise the body and/or aid weight-loss - for three years and suspected that there was an appetite for juices in Jersey. She was proved right and the business grew – to the extent that the next logical step was to open a shop.
Jersey Naturally in St Helier
Sheila Baudains has been a photographer for most of her life and sells her images in a variety of ways, including on cards, mugs, magnets, key rings, glitter-domes and in calendars as well as in mounts. She is particularly well known for her images of Jersey cows. Sheila is constantly coming up with new ideas and opening a town shop, when the right property became available, was the logical next step. She will also sell the art and craft of other Genuine Jersey Members.
The Chief Executive of Genuine Jersey, John Garton, said: “This shows that the entrepreneurial spirit is well and truly alive among Genuine Jersey Members. It’s interesting to note that all of the Members venturing into opening their own outlets have gained valuable experience at the weekly markets which take place in the Royal Square or in St Aubin and the Association is keen to continue to support new start-ups.”
Other Genuine Jersey Members have had established premises for some time. These include Sue’s Fudge, Jane James, La Mare Wine Estate and Vienna Bakery.
