Carlow’s Artisan Poultry Farmers Celebrate Ten Years
Business has seen 400 per cent growth in turnover
Free range artisan poultry farmers, Bertram and Celine Salter, are celebrating 10 successful years of their business, CarlowFreeRange (formerly Carlow Foods). In just six years the business has experienced an incredible 400 per cent growth in turnover and has recently expanded. With a core team of ten, CarlowFreeRange employs up to 20 people at busier times, particularly coming up to Christmas.
From his family farm in Fenagh, Co. Carlow,Bertram started out supplying free range chickens to local farmers markets, helped by his mother, Olive. From there he spotted a niche in the market for free range poultry and decided to focus on the business, becoming short-listed for a Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the age of 30. His wife Celine joined the business in 2004 looking after the operational side. The business has recently expanded adding new packaging facilities and increasing its free range turkey supply.
“Such is demand, we recently expanded our facilities to process additional free range turkeys. We believe that by supporting the welfare of our birds and rearing them free range, we give the consumer the best possible, naturally reared free range chicken and turkey. It is a real milestone both for our family and our business to be celebrating ten successful years and we look forward to a great future” said Bertram Salter, founder of CarlowFreeRange.
Unusually for its sector, CarlowFreeRange owns and manages the entire supply chain process from rearing their birds through to packaging and delivery. This means removing food miles and allowing consumers enjoy a healthy, wholesome and natural product that is fully traceable to the farm.
Working to the standards set by the Department of Agriculture, CarlowFreeRange practice hand feeding using an exclusive formula created to maximise taste. While many poultry suppliers stock 20,000 to 40,000 birds per house, Carlow Free Range cap this at a maximum of 800 in each of their purpose built houses, allowing arelaxed stress free environment with lots of fresh air. In keeping with their philosophy of providing the highest quality, free range chicken and turkey at an affordable price, CarlowFreeRange stocks less than four per cent than conventional poultry farms, giving birds a much better quality of life.
CarlowFreeRange’s corn fed chicken and turkey receives rave reviews and Bertram and Celine are keen for consumers to go back to older, traditional cooking methods of chicken, using everything from the meat to the bones for chicken stock. The company have recently re-branded from Carlow Foods to CarlowFreeRange with new packaging, still maintaining its popular vibrant yellow colour, as well as a new web-site, www.carlowfreerange.ie, giving lots of delicious recipes and cooking tips.
Both Bertram and Celine are actively involved in the day to day running and management of CarlowFreeRange and live by the farm with their three children, Isobel, Jamie and Luci. This way, they ensure that their commitment to quality standards translates into a premium quality, free range poultry.
