Small, but mighty, buy local!

By Charlotte Coulson

Stockpiling has equalled boom time for supermarkets and delivery slots are proving harder to get than Glastonbury tickets. But it’s the smaller businesses that are demonstrating their agility - shifting focus to help meet new demands with restaurants converting to food shops or offering contact-free deliveries.

There are 5.82 million small businesses in the UK[1], making up 99.3% of all businesses – but despite the government support package reports say up to a million of them may go under.

We all have a small business or independent brand that we feel a particular affinity to - a local butcher, brewery, café or artisan shop. The mantra to ‘Vote with your Money’ and the power of the pound in your pocket has never felt stronger. 

That’s why I’m looking to buy local. Websites such as Yell.com can help in finding those smaller businesses near you that will really appreciate your support. How sad will a post crisis Britain feel without any independent butchers, bakers, grocers, newsagents, restaurants, café’s, bar or pubs in our locality?

Of course, ultimately this is about more than just making sure we can grab a good cup of coffee in the morning once this is all over. In our globalised world, whilst some products may mainly be made in the UK they often rely on part imported from elsewhere.

As international trading channels have ground to a halt, the ability for some manufacturers to keep up with demand has been compromised. Yesterday the government highlighted the problems getting the volume of chemicals need to conduct CV testing. 

After two decades of globalisation it seems inevitable that politicians, business leaders and consumers will look again at just-in-time, long distance supply chains.  It’s too early to predict what the result will be, but it may be that a renaissance for SMEs with home grown solutions being favoured across our economy.

[1] https://www.fsb.org.uk/uk-small-business-statistics.html