Guernsey Press

‘We’ve all been through this together’

ONE island wholesaler is to continue home deliveries in phase five of the island’s exit from lockdown but expects demand to reduce as shops reopen fully without people needing to queue to get in.

Published
Manor Farm Foods’ dispatch manager Guy Batiste and logistics manager Ivan Delgado in the background. (Picture by Adrian Miller 28363597)

Manor Farm Foods, which usually supplies food to the island’s hotels, restaurants and eateries seven days a week, has confirmed they will continue to deliver these supplies to houses across the island.

It introduced the delivery service back in November. However, the service really got going during the coronavirus pandemic as islanders stayed at home either to self-isolate or shield themselves from catching the virus, with the company having to adapt from a wholesalers to retail.

Managing director and buyer Grant Le Tissier said they thought it was a good idea to keep it going.

‘It started out small before the pandemic but then when it took over the island and the world we had to adapt quite majorly,’ he said.

‘The whole business was turned upside down and we were getting 300 orders a day and then we had to deliver them all over the island, which is completely different for us than delivering to other businesses, hotels and restaurants.

‘Having to find a house out in the lanes in St Peter’s could be really difficult at times but our customers have helped us out and we’ve all been through this together.’

He said they had used a newly-developed address locator in order to make their drops, as well as asking for unique markers from customers, such as a certain colour of car in the driveway or individual looking trees.

‘Islanders have been very good to us and we’ve been grateful of the help and effort that everyone has put in to making our lives easier,’ Mr Le Tissier added.

‘It’s not expected that we’ll have as many as 300 orders a day once phase five is here and we wouldn’t want to, it’d be impossible, as we now get back into wholesale properly for places – hotels and restaurants – opening up, but we’ll keep home deliveries going.

‘If it’s about 100-120 a day then that’s something we could fulfil and we wouldn’t want to let anyone down.’

Although, Mr Le Tissier said he was conscious of what the pandemic will have done to the business, he understood most businesses across the island would be in the same situation.

‘It’s not going to be one of our best years with no tourists,’ he said.

‘But having this as something that we could do to help with the local economy, selling lots of local produce, we hope has helped.

‘It’s something every business has tried to do and we’ll have to see where the figures end up at the end of it.’