Student develops iconic egg brand

Posted 7 June 2013

A second year Harper Adams University student and her sisters have developed an iconic free range egg brand that now supplies some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets.

20-year-old Lorna Campbell and her sisters Katy and Amy are the driving force behind Kitty Campbell’s Free Range Eggs which can be found in Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s.

The brand strives to promote three generations of Campbells working together to connect with consumers on a personal level.

BSc (Hons) Agri-food Marketing with Business Studies student, Lorna, is responsible for production and ensuring welfare is up the standard. She said: “We are very much a family business but really, it’s about us being the next generation of farmers as three young sisters.

“We work together alongside our parents on the farm and chose Katy as the face of the brand whilst Amy takes care of the marketing and advertising side”

It all began back in 2011 from the 12,500 acre family farm in Peebles in the Scottish borders. Aside from egg production, the farm also has 650 cattle, 9500 sheep, a pedigree Blackface sheep flock, point-of-lay hens for sale, and several other enterprises.

Lorna, who is about to spend her placement year in Australia, added: “It can be hard work juggling all of the different enterprises, particularly the strains of having the responsibility of produce eggs 365 days a year along with busy times with sheep and cattle.

“We are now looking to expand and hope to secure planning permission for a liquid egg processing plant so we can make use of our second quality eggs.”

Before enrolling at Harper Adams in Shropshire, Lorna spent a gap year working at home with the sheep and cattle. She was a part time employee with the poultry business and helped to create Kitty Campbell’s free-range egg brand.

Her hobby, along with her sisters, is a flock of 50 Suffolk ewes of which the male lambs are used to sire their cross ewes on the family farm and then sold as shearlings the following year. This has enabled them to pay for their tuition fees.
 
Commenting on why she chose Harper Adams when she could have studied for free in Scotland, she added: “I wanted to be with like-minded hard-working individuals with strong goals so that alone makes it worth the fees. Also, supermarkets talk very highly of students that have come from Harder Adams.

“I’ve also been able to get stuck into extra-curriculars such as the women’s hockey team of which I’m the Social Secretary. 

“At Harper Adams you make friends for life.”