Charcoal Products - Wholesale Supply Business - Plunkett Franchise Models
The consumption of charcoal for outdoor cooking purposes has grown to approximately 60,000 tons per year, and the market is estimated to be worth around £60 million per annum. Charcoal has become a worldwide commodity dominated by low cost Southern Hemisphere producers shipping in bulk. Imported charcoal is typically produced in huge kilns with a capacity of 35 – 50 tonnes. In contrast, the estimated 300 to 400 (part-time) charcoal burners in the UK operate small kilns producing up to 600kg of charcoal. The economies of scale are therefore quite different, and UK produced charcoal is more expensive and has a market share of less than 10%.
British charcoal possesses technical advantages over most imported charcoal:
- it ignites more easily
- it reaches cooking temperature more quickly
- it generates more heat over a longer period of time
- it produces less smoke.
In terms of heat output and convenience British charcoal can be technically better value than many of its rivals, but this is not always fully reflected in the price differential.
There is also another market for charcoal products which is largely untapped. “Fines” are the fragments of charcoal which are too small to sell for barbecue use, and which have been regarded as a waste by-product. Fines can be used to enrich horticultural potting compost and to improve its water-retaining abilities.
Producer groups have an opportunity to develop regional and national markets for both charcoal and fines. They alone have an interest in promoting British charcoal products and establishing new routes to market. Only by acting together can they develop the critical mass, economies of scale and reliability of service needed to supply these markets.
The co-operative will help provide a livelihood for forestry workers and benefit rural areas and the environment by:
- creating a market for charcoal products
- providing part-time employment for the members who operate the grading and packaging machinery
- reducing the CO2 emissions and de-forestation caused by using imported charcoal
- enabling British woodlands to be properly managed for the benefit of wildlife.
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