'Butchers won't be here if people don't shop local'

It's midday, mid-week, and Knavesmire Butchers in York has a steady stream of customers filing in and out, many of whom are greeted by name.

A family-run establishment that prides itself on its traditional values of farm-to-fork, it may be surprising to learn this local butchers has become a hit on social media,

But according to proprietor Luke Swales, it's all part of the plan: "We want to get people out of the supermarkets and back into their local businesses, especially butchers," he says.

"We don't want people to be saying, in 10 years' time, 'I wish there was still a butchers about, we miss going to them' - because if you keep supporting us now, we'll still be here well past my lifetime."

For the 29-year-old, the butchers' business is in his blood.

His father opened Knavesmire Butchers more than 30 years ago, and his family runs both the shop and the farm that supplies the shop's meat.

It was the younger Mr Swales' idea to ramp up the business's social media presence, by posting videos across various platforms including Facebook and TikTok - although he admits he wasn't quite prepared for the online response.

"I was surprised - I just thought we'd maybe get a few local customers coming to us," he says.

"In the South Bank area there are lots of rented houses, so there's lots of new people to the area who might not know about us.

"[But] we've had messages from all over the UK and Ireland."

The aim is to educate people on farming and butchery, as well as to promote the business, according to Mr Swales, who stars in most of the videos.

"There's not many butchers shops that have their own farms, and have that traceability of farm-to-fork - so we wanted to show people the ins-and-outs and behind the scenes," he explains.

However, despite Mr Swales' initial intentions, he soon discovered that some of the shop's growing social media following appear to have a different motive for engaging with his videos.

"Sometimes I don't know if people want the meat or me!" he jokes.

Still, he's making the most of his unexpected popularity. His later videos are knowingly smattered with a variety of meat and farming-related puns, and the shop's most successful viral hit to date features a shirtless Mr Swales wearing an apron, talking viewers through the meat counter.

It racked up 350,000 views.

He describes the videos as "a bit of fun", and a way to reach a larger, generation-spanning audience, although he hasn't convinced the rest of the team to join him on screen yet.

But the foray into social media hasn't been without its detractors - with some of the most surprising opposition coming from similar businesses, according to Mr Swales.

"There is a lot of support, but it does come with a bit of negativity - people from the same sort of work wanting to slate you, or writing negative comments.

"We don't understand why you'd want to pull someone down in the same trade as you?

"We're saying, shop at your local butcher - wherever you are - and stop using supermarkets, or in the next 10 years there might not be these small, independent butchers."

Mr Swales joined the business full-time when he finished school, and feels that he is often in a minority age bracket at agricultural events.

"When I go to the markets to buy stock, there's not many people under the age of 60. There's a few, but not many," he says.

"Farming is a dying trade, and butchers... there's not many youth coming through. We should be encouraging that."

As such, his plan for future video content includes a greater focus on butchery and livestock shows in particular, in an effort to educate a younger audience.

Whether these plans will include any more viral stunts is yet to be seen.

"There's so much to do, but I don't like to post too much – I like to leave people wanting more," he says.

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