What lays at the heart of your business, and more importantly, why does it exist? These were the questions being asked of us by Vida, Arti and the team at Focus 7. For the first time, we were questioning the reason for the existence of the vineyard at our farm, and why we have made the plunge to tread this new and challenging path. The answer: To protect and promote our great British countryside and its farming custodians, while connecting with its communities.

The vineyard was planted for many reasons, wine was far from the soul purpose. In fact, a key reason was securing the farm for future generations, in a world where grain prices and the international market regularly make farming unviable as a business. The vineyard also brings together key principles we follow in farming, namely that we are nature-led and must fit around our environment rather than the other way around. This human and natural approach brought us to our key purpose: ‘Nurturing Nature and People’, which we believe summarises our goals and underpins our key pillars: Farming, Family and Heritage. Our values: Collaborative | Excellence | Innovative | Educating | Nurturing, also speak to our purpose and the means by which we wish to achieve this.

Our workshop with Vida and her team has been invaluable in defining the Lokkelebery DNA. We got to the heart of our identity, its narrative and why it exists which was incredibly powerful in shaping how we move forward. The time spent unpicking Lokkelebery were fascinating and got to the heart of our values and existence. 

Our thanks to Focus 7 and to the Lord Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire’s Entrepreneur Challenge for this fantastic opportunity.