What is ‘Producer Membership’?
Producer members will be at the heart of The Charcuterie Board, being able to promote their business in a dedicated space, in a public facing shop front, as well as being able to network with commercial and professional services members to improve how their business functions, learn, share and grow. The benefits for your business are only limited by what you do with the opportunities this interactive approach presents.
Membership will also provide free entry into events and other promotions that will help find new customers, develop your business, raise your company profile as well as sell product direct to the public.
Members will qualify for discounts from other members in allied supply side businesses and service providers, saving money from day one.
Members will also be able to enter, free of charge, our Silver Star scheme to recognise and celebrate the very best producers in the sector. Winning a coveted Silver Star will serve as the ultimate guarantee of care, skill and quality standing behind all of your products for customers to trust in.
Producers from across the world can discuss common issues, challenges and ideas, will be able to engage with buyers, retailers and distributors, promote new products, all in one online space.
Membership includes access to both public & trade only areas of the web platform, a huge archive of online resources, priority access to live events, unlimited advertising and also involvement with the working groups looking to tackle some of the sectors’ most important challenges.
Annual membership offers all of these amazing benefits, all year, for less than the cost of a one off food magazine advertisement.
What is ‘Commercial Membership’?
This option serves those in allied and supply side business. Be that distributors and wholesalers, equipment manufacturers and re-sellers, ingredients suppliers and consumables providers alike, all can speak to their entire target market in one place, explain their business and set about doing business direct with no hidden costs.
Members get a dedicated space for their business profile and can advertise, promote, network and engage with their entire target market all in one place. This interactive promotion of your business is only limited by what you choose to do with the opportunities it presents.
Producers from across the world will be able to see the products and services you offer, discuss their needs in detail with you whilst at the same time the platform will provide opportunities for you to promote yourself wherever you identify a potential need for what you do.
Membership includes access to both public & trade only areas of the web platform, priority access to live events, unlimited advertising and also involvement with the working groups looking to tackle some of the sectors’ most important challenges.
Annual membership offers many amazing benefits for less than the cost of one trade magazine advertisement.
What is ‘Professional Services Membership’?
Members such as consultants, trade bodies, food safety experts etc. all get a dedicated space for their business profile and can advertise, promote, network & engage with their entire target market all in one place. The benefits for your business are only limited by what you choose to do with the opportunities this interactive approach presents.
Producers from across the world will be able to see the products and services you offer, discuss their needs in detail with you whilst at the same time the platform will provide opportunities for you to promote yourself wherever you identify a potential need for what you do.
Membership includes access to both public & trade only areas of the web platform, priority access to live events, unlimited advertising and also involvement with the working groups looking to tackle some of the sectors’ most important challenges.
Annual membership offers many amazing benefits for less than the cost of one trade magazine advertisement.
What is ‘Affiliate Membership’?
Affiliate membership is designed for professionals who, whilst they might not be full time within the charcuterie sector, do have an important crossover and who are integral to the wider network in which the sector operates.
This is a big group and includes chefs, farmers, EHOs, trade bodies, existing Guilds, academics, educators, food writers, journalists and others who have a professional interest in charcuterie. These people also form part of the path from farm to table, who we want to be connected to producers, whether helping them source the best meat and supply the best outlets or providing vital information about trends in demand. Engagement with one another is vital for the sector to be the very best it can.
We also want members of the media, writers and reviewers as well as other trade organisations, guilds and federations to be part of the ongoing conversation about the direction the sector is taking and ought to take.
Existing trade bodies can promote their aims and works, encourage participation from the cured meats sector and ensure the multitude of crossovers, from farming, to butchers and food service professionals all benefit from collaboration and cooperation.
Members will be able to interact with producers, keep up with all the latest sector news & developments, have access to a comprehensive database of makers, promotions, an online recipe archive, other resources and be part of the global charcuterie conversation on the forums all in one online space.
Membership includes access to the web platform, a huge archive of online resources, discounts, priority access to live events and also involvement with the working groups looking to tackle some of the sectors’ most important challenges.
What is ‘Public Membership’?
Public members will be able to connect with their favourite producers, keep up with all the latest sector news & developments, have access to a comprehensive database of makers, promotions, an online recipe archive, other resources and be part of the global charcuterie conversation on the forums.
We also want to create the 'go to' space for keen public consumers who want to stay up to date with new products, trends and deals to be had from their favourite makers, as well as getting the inside track on live events, courses and promotions. Here is the place!
As an organisation we recognise and truly value the huge contribution of home and amateur makers, which is fundamental to artisan crafts such as the world of cured meats. The experimentation, research and knowledge shared by generations of home makers is the bed rock of the charcuterie world. We want to welcome all amateur makers and other enthusiasts to continue to be part of the sectors development.
Members from across the world can discuss common issues, challenges and ideas, will be able to engage with both professionals and other keen amateur makers all in one online space.
Membership includes access to all public areas of the web platform, a huge archive of online resources, priority access to live events and an opportunity to be involved in helping producers develop products for which there is a public demand and sharing thoughts on trends and evolving markets.
Annual membership offers many amazing benefits & discounts that will recover the token subscription cost many times over!
Why does each type of membership have a different level of access on The Charcuterie Board Forums?
The extent of access within our forums depends on the type of membership you have. Public members, for example, have access to the main public forum at the front which gives them news, upcoming event information, a storefront linking them to all of the producer members retail sales outlets and they also have access to our recipe archive.
Producer members still enjoy all of this access but also have dedicated areas to discuss, in depth, issues surrounding commercial production, marketing and supply as well as specific areas to network with allied businesses and service providers to address their businesses commercial needs or discuss ideas with EHOs who can help them develop their food safety plans etc.
Affiliate members have an intermediate access level that allows them to stay up to date with all of the news etc but also have a dedicated area for discussion of topics that will be of specific use to them. Chefs, for example can explain menu needs to producers who may be able to create the perfect fit, farmers can market well raised pigs direct to makers, writers can talk to industry figures to side step the flood of misinformation that so often characterises articles on cured meats.
This way, we feel that the forums can form a really useful, tailored aid to all of our different members and their individual needs.
How will membership of The Charcuterie Board promote my business?
Our whole reason for being is to promote everyone and everything we can to help improve the profile of the cured meat sector. We can do this in several ways for each type of members business.
All members automatically have their own profile page on the Forums and also a dedicated thread for themselves. You can add all relevant contact info, links and biography details to your profile so that anyone clicking on your name will go directly to all of this information.
The dedicated thread will be within the 'directory' section of the relevant forum for your membership type. So producers will set up their thread in the producers directory, professional services providers in their forums' directory, affiliates the same and so on. This will allow other members to browse through and find you and your unique space.
Members can use this space on their own thread to post as much promotional material, advertising and other material as they like. Not only will this function as a great promotional area but it will also be fully interactive with other members being able to ask you questions and make enquiries based on what they see. A great way to network effectively, buy, sell and explain your story.
Added to this dedicated space on the directory members can also promote their business in other specifically designed areas of the platform. The 'General Store' also allows producers to create a link to their retail outlets in a public facing shopfront. Allied and supply side business can advertise directly to potential business-to-business customers in the 'market place' knowing that their entire target market is already gathered together within the association here.
Other trade bodies, guilds, associations and groups can also promote their work and advertise memberships and other benefits within the affiliate directory so that we can all work together for the sectors wider benefit.
Over and above all of the features within the online platform The Charcuterie Board is also all about promoting the industry, promoting quality food craft and promoting its membership in a multitude of other real world ways. We have created 'National Charcuterie Week' to give a public focus on members tastings, sales, courses and other events. It also provides a recognisable point of focus for the media. We will be involved in all sorts of events being run by members from existing festivals and awards organisers, training and educational facilities and 'meet the producer' days.
We also establish, through our formal presence, a way to provide a reliable, trustworthy source of industry information, giving a knowledgable voice to the sector as a whole.
What are the financial benefits of membership?
Our whole model is based around providing not only broad based support for members, driving forward work in vital areas and allowing effective networking and promotional opportunities but also fundamentally GOOD VALUE.
We are operating a system of encouragement and proactive highlighting of discounts and deals offered by members to others. In practice this will mean the following;
Public members will benefit from retail 'member discounts' from some of their favourite producers. Cash savings on web based and other sales that mean their subscription will be saved many times over.
Affiliate members will have access to networks of supply, information or widening of customer bases that will see, for example, chefs able to both save on product cost but also ensure exclusivity in product formulations, farmers will be able to maximise the return on quality livestock through contract agreements with producer members, training and other bodies will see their own subscriptions and sign ups increase through the ability to tailor their offer directly to members demand. One single deal alone could more than offset the modest membership rates and ensure ongoing savings throughout the year.
Producer members will gain promotional deals and discounts from supply side members, free entry to trade events and award schemes, free promotion and advertising both within the association platform but also through the ongoing work of The Charcuterie Board out in the public realm. All of this will repay their subscription many times over in savings alone.
Commercial and professional services members will have access to their entire target market, an ability to advertise and promote, as much as they wish, all year round and in an interactive and responsive format, all for less than the cost of a one off print ad!
Membership of The Charcuterie Board should not only be 'cost neutral' soon after joining, but it should continue to represent financial savings, business growth throughout the year and years ahead.
All members also benefit from Priority and discounted opportunities with access to events through members only ticketing, trading and demo/workshop type deals.
What is The Charcuterie Board ‘Silver Star’ scheme?
We believe very strongly that recognising quality is of fundamental importance within a craft based sector such as Charcuterie.
Our 'Silver Star' scheme is an international index of the quality of a producers work. It rightly celebrates the makers skill, care and dedication and it also offers consumers a trustworthy benchmark guarantee they can rely on.
We have set up the scheme which will initially run in the UK, North America and Australia and which we will look to roll out to new regions in due course.
The index looks at a producer rather than a particular product. As such it is a more holistic appraisal of various factors which aims to honour their overall approach and, where earned, will award a business the ultimate seal of both approval and recommendation.
Every year, and in each region, we will invite a team of carefully selected 'inspectors' to help us assess not only sample products but also other aspects of the producers operation through a careful and detailed appraisal index. This process will go on throughout the spring and summer months and Stars will be awarded in the Autumn each year.
Some of the measures within the scheme will include quality of the ingredients used, the makers use and understanding of flavour and production techniques, the way that the ethos, personality or story of the maker shines through in their products, consistency and also value for money will also be important considerations for the inspectors during the appraisal process.
The Silver Stars will stand as testament to the care, dedication and enthusiasm of our very best producers and the assessment process itself will also help tell their story.
Can anyone, anywhere, join?
Yes! we are a truly global organisation. We all have so much to offer and to learn from one another.
Global interaction is at the heart of the Charcuterie sector. Regional styles have evolved and adapted as they have spread. Terroir is still key to many products, from local or unique ingredients through to traditional techniques and the appetite within the industry to look for new ideas and inspiration never ends.
We welcome members, be they public enthusiasts, commercial producers and allied businesses from across the world and will be promoting members from all regions.
Be part of the sectors future, help it develop and grow, wherever you are.
