Riverford
Riverford is an organic farm, dairy and bakery cooperative in Buckfastleigh in Devon, England.
Riverford farm was taken over by the Watson family in the 1950s and followed the normal history for UK farms until the mid 1980's, when Guy Watson decided to convert to organic farming. By the late 1980s this had been achieved, but when negotiations with a supermarket chain failed, he was forced to seek an alternative produce-distribution methodology. His idea was the weekly veg box scheme, which is delivered direct to customers' doors with locally grown produce.
Eliminating choice works in Riverford's favour, permitting economies of scale that approach those of supermarkets, whilst reducing the delivery time from field to kitchen and ensuring fresh food. Riverford also choose varieties for flavour rather than appearance and deliver earthy, unclean, vegetables which again improves storage and taste. Another benefit of the lack of choice is that customers work with the rhythm of the seasons in their cooking and discover new vegetables that they have never tried before.
Starting from a weekly delivery of around 30 boxes to family and friends, by early 2005 Riverford were delivering to around 20,000 homes. To achieve this they have formed a mutual cooperative of British farmers - not all in Devon. The weekly boxes come with a newsletter explaining both the content of the box and giving a brief diary from Riverford. The result is a large, yet personal method of shopping with the bulk of customers having been found by word of mouth, and small-scale, local advertising.
In March 2005, following in celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's footsteps, Riverford obtained the catering contract for lunches at a local primary school.
On 2 December 2007 Riverford appeared at number 92 in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100, a list of the 100 fastest growing companies in the UK. Rival delivery company Abel & Cole were at number 68.