Riverford celebrates industry growth

Riverford Organic Farmers has plenty of reason to celebrate as the organic farming industry sees yet another year of sales growth.

Riverford has been rejoicing as one of the leading organisations in the organic farming industry has announced that 2018 saw a seventh consecutive year of growth for the industry.

Despite a freezing winter that saw late snow storms battering the country and blistering summer that scorched many fields of crops, the sales of organic products grew by 4% in the 12 months ending in June 2018. According to the Soil Association, organic produce’s sales rocketed by 5.3%, while organic dairy also saw impressive sales increases of around 3.5%. Sales of their non-organic counterparts saw much smaller increases, indicating a growing desire for organic food such as Riverford’s organic produce boxes.

Liz Bowles, Head of Farming at the Soil Assosciation, said:

“We know that interest in organic food has been growing in recent years and it’s great to see farmers continue to be rewarded for growing food as it should be, with no artificial additives, fewer pesticides, no GM and with the highest standards of animal welfare.”

Ahead of the Soil Association’s Organic September, which celebrates organic farmers such as the franchisees of Riverford, the organisation carried out customer research to find out what’s behind the continued growth of the organics industry. It found that customers are increasingly prioritising ‘healthiness’ and ‘taste and inspiration’, something that they feel they’ll find in organic produce.

Managing Director of Riverford, Rob Haward, expressed the franchise’s delight at the increasing public appetite for organic food.

“We are really optimistic about 2018. Riverford’s sales are growing faster than they have done for many years, fuelled by three things; firstly, a move towards more vegetable-based diets – something that a veg box supports brilliantly, secondly a desire to buy food with provenance and thirdly, a growing demand to buy from businesses that are ethical.”

Riverford Organic Farmers prides itself on being a nautral food franchise that prioritises ethical conduct and has been awarded multiple times for its business model.