Kent fruit crisp farmer chooses China over supermarkets

A farmer from Kent who struck a deal to sell his fruit crisps to China has said his success came after avoiding British supermarkets.

Charlie Fermor, whose family owns Perry Court Farm, in Ashford, said he has recently sent 40,000 bags of his apple crisps to China.

He said he gets more money than he would selling them through supermarkets.

The company is currently preparing a 100,000 packet shipment to Australia.

Mr Fermor's parents stopped selling fruit to supermarkets 15 years ago due to the low level of profits they received.

He said he took their advice with his latest venture and focused on trade shows and farmers markets.

'Very good stuff'

Mr Fermor said he developed the crisps while studying at university. They are made from apples and pears harvested on the farm, sliced and then dried.

"It was a conscious decision not to [sell to supermarkets]," he said.

"We started on quite a small scale and targeted smaller specialist retailers like farm shops and delis."

Mr Fermor said there has been an international hunger for British products following the Olympics and Jubilee celebrations.

"We as a nation produce very good stuff and I think the rest of the world realises that," he said.

"The last six months things have really taken off in a big way and we're looking at expanding the factory quite a lot this year to keep up with demand."