Simon McLaren is a team leader at The Green Welly Stop in Tyndrum, Crianlarich – a store that has served adventurers for more than 70 years.
Located on the edge of the Highlands, almost at the halfway point of the world-famous West Highland Way, the store is a safe haven on a 96-mile long-distance trail that starts just north of Glasgow and ends at the far side of Ben Nevis.
As a result, a lot of the customers that visit The Green Welly Stop are preparing for a challenge, and the store has to cater for that, which they do through a focused product range and team of helpful staff.
“In the off-season, we employ around 10 staff, but during the peak season, we’ll increase this to 12 to deal with the crowds,” McLaren says.
Offering fuel foods as impulse lines
“Many of our customers are travelling or hiking, so our product range is based around that,” he explains. “We offer essentials such as camping accessories, household products and stationery. We have a bit of everything.”
McLaren and his team also focus on the impulse opportunity. While understandably water sales are high, McLaren sells volumes of carbonated and energy drinks, crisps, bagged sweets and chocolate, as well as protein bars.
“Doing a 96-mile hike, you’ll need a sugar boost at some point, so we offer those products for that need specifically,” he says.
Trek, Naked, Eat Natural, and YFood Replacement Shakes are among his most popular brands. This is because they provide carbs and protein, but are not so filling that customers can’t finish their hike.
These products are just some of the lines that Epicurium specialises in. In fact, with YFood, McLaren’s customers can get the nutrition they need to truly appreciate the views and make the most of their trip.
How the support of a wholesaler helps – even in the most remote locations
Being a large store, The Green Welly Stop has a lot of suppliers, including Epicurium, to help it cater for such a wide array of consumers.
“Epicurium is great. Their website is easy to use, and they have most of the products we need to support our customers,” he says.
McLaren has visits from an Epicurium rep, who supports the store with merchandising, product announcements and category insights.
“Olivia helps us a lot,” he says. “She emails us regularly about new products, offers us samples and tells us about any promotions that are coming up, so we don’t miss out.”
Going beyond the convenience store scope
“We get higher footfall than our local competitors because we aren’t just a forecourt, we have much more,” McLaren says. “You’re getting a wider experience by shopping with us. We’re bigger, too.”
The Green Welly Stop is also an outdoor clothing store, gift shop and has a restaurant.
Offering all of this means customers truly can get everything they might need, but have forgotten about. Some examples include Camelbak, a BPA-free hydration pack, as well as a range from Paramo Clothing, which includes jackets, trousers and hats.
McLaren and other team members use this wide range to promote the business as a destination, using its own e-newsletter, as well as Facebook, Instagram and X social media pages. But The Green Welly Stop goes beyond product promotions and uses their pages to keep shoppers informed about weather changes, drive recruitment and celebrate the stories of their adventure-bound customers. By focusing on the unique needs of their community, the store is a destination for shoppers, despite its remote location, and we at Epicurium are proud to support such an innovative team.
