A venison offer created during the height of the Britpop era is still being sold by Country Quality Meat in Nailsworth, with customers able to buy two pounds of diced venison for £10.
The deal began in the 1990s, when the business was reviewing its prices while Blur and Oasis competed for chart-topping honours. Paul Dowdeswell, who runs the Nailsworth-based butcher, said the offer has remained unchanged for decades, despite wider increases in food prices.
Country Quality Meat has been involved in game for many years. Its range includes rabbit, pigeon, pheasant, partridge and duck during the game season, but venison has become one of its biggest sellers.
How the £10 venison offer began
The original promotion was created after the price of diced venison had to be reconsidered. Paul recalled that the business eventually increased the price to £5.98 per pound, but one of his business partners believed customers would not buy it at that level.
“I remember when we costed the venison out while listening to Blur & Oasis battling out for the no 1 in the chart and we finally had to put diced venison up to £5.98 a pound.”
That concern led to the idea of selling two pounds for £10. Rather than pricing the diced meat in the same way as other cuts, the business kept the offer in place while raising the prices of other products.
Paul said the calculation probably took place around August, when fallow bucks came into season. The source article says roe and muntjac have since been costed in the same way.
The exact year is not given, but the reference to Blur and Oasis places the start of the offer in the mid-1990s Britpop period. Paul also described the deal as having existed “since the last century”.
Why venison has become a popular seller
Paul said venison appeals to customers because it is lean and represents good value. He said the meat is often cheaper than beef and lamb, challenging the assumption that game must be an expensive choice.
“It is cheaper than both beef & lamb. I would say for our business it is our unique selling point. Especially our diced venison for stews & casserole.”
The diced product is particularly suited to stews and casseroles. For the butcher, the £10 price is also a way of allowing people who have not tried venison before to taste it without committing to a more expensive purchase.
Paul said the offer brings in new customers as well as regular shoppers. He described it as a way to introduce people to venison, with generations of customers having tried the meat through the business.
Country Quality Meat’s wider game selection changes during the game season. Paul said there is always a species of deer in season at some point during the year, and that each species has its own flavour. Customers who are unsure about which venison they are buying can ask the butcher for advice.
“I’ve been surrounded all my life by people who shoot and because it is a sustainable wild healthy alternative to other meats.”
Business history from Tetbury to Nailsworth
The long-running offer is also connected to the butcher’s history in the wider area. Paul remembered a time when Country Quality Meat had a shop in Tetbury, giving the business an additional link to the local community before its development in Nailsworth.
He said he was surprised by how quickly the years had passed and suggested that customers might remember when they first tried venison from the business. The £10 deal has therefore become more than a price promotion: it is also a point of connection between the shop’s past and its current customers.
Paul said the business is now “much more than then”, and also reflected that customers might once again be able to buy meat using pounds and ounces. The comment came as he looked back at how the shop and its pricing had changed since the 1990s.
With the cost of food continuing to rise, the unchanged two-pound offer stands out as an example of a product deliberately kept affordable. For Country Quality Meat, it remains a distinctive feature of the Nailsworth business, a way to attract shoppers and a long-standing introduction to venison for local customers.
