New-look Cornish pasty shops see a 40 per cent rise in sales

Newbury outlet one of the first to benefit after revamp

THE new high street concept store from West Cornwall Pasty Co – West Cornwall Food Co has been hailed a success across the board following a robust nine- month trial trading period, which included its Newbury outlet.

The new brand is reporting 40 per cent sales growth across the estate.

The new stores locations, carefully chosen test-beds of Newbury, Canterbury, Chichester, Cirencester and Winchester, have outperformed expectations, leading to a permanent inclusion in the estate.

A fast-track roll-out for the successful concept is planned for 2017 to a number of other high street West Cornwall Pasty Co stores.

The ‘Food Co’ concept was tasked with improving prospects on the high street by channelling a new look and feel for the brand, which extends to store interiors and exteriors.

Looking to bring back to life ‘friendly local neighbourhood’ shops, the stores have all undergone full interior restorations.

This draws on original features and uses heritage materials and fabrics to remind customers of the brand’s Cornish heritage.

Special emphasis has been to ensure both the interior and exterior are welcoming and focus on ease of service and enjoyment of the products.

Hand-in-hand with the new look is a fresh approach to food and drink.

The concept revolves around St Just – the brand’s own organic fair-trade coffee range, freshly-made sandwiches, premium cakes, doughnuts and cookies.

West Cornwall Pasty Co executive chairman Chris Peck said: “We have invested considerable time, effort and budget into the West Cornwall Food Co concept in a move to improve performance on the high street.

“The response we’ve had from our customers to our new approach has been extremely positive.

“We are delighted with the level of daily interaction the new look has inspired.

“Our aim with the Food Co concept was to reach out to an everyday customer with great value, daily mealtime and snack solutions.

“The rise in demographic diversity from the number of families, local businesses to commuters using us combined with proven strong sales growth has given us great confidence.”