Riverford Organic Farmers
John Watson won the tenancy of Riverford Farm: 120 acres within a Church of England estate in South Devon. He had 20 Ayrshire cows, lots of ideals, and no practical farming experience.
Guy Singh-Watson (Riverford's founder) was the youngest of John's five children, all of who are still involved around the farm today. A pig for his 8th birthday started Guy's farming career.
Guy planted his first three acres of organic veg, achieving Soil Association certification three years later and initially supplying veg to the supermarkets. Guy attributed his decision to farm organically to seeing his brother hospitalised from the effects of a common pesticide, as well as a gut feeling that organic was the right way to farm. The whole farm (now called Wash Farm) subsequently became organic.
After losing patience with unscrupulous supermarket buyers, Guy delivered his first veg boxes to local ‘box organisers’ from the back of his old Citroen 2CV. Box organisers were the early enthusiasts. In return for recruiting a group of ten veg box buyers, collecting the money, and providing a collection point, the organiser got their box free.
Our Devon grower cooperative, the South Devon Organic Producers (SDOP), was born - laying the foundation of our unique supply chain, and challenging the practices of supermarket buyers. Grower cooperatives are vanishingly rare in the UK, and Guy had a job persuading sceptical local farmers to go organic, grow veg for our boxes and share resources (such as tools, expertise, and seasonal staff). Many of those original family farms are still supplying us today, and have been critical to our success.
Franchising extended our geographical reach. At its peak we had over 100 franchisees (aka local veg teams) delivering boxes across the UK - from Bath all the way to Newcastle. Franchising contributed significantly to Riverford's expansion and success in the coming years.
Riverford entered the 21st century with the launch of our first website, including box contents viewable on the world wide web! Prior to this, order changes were made via phone or email, and payments by cash or cheque – all managed by our franchisees and in-house customer service team.
A fine-dining restaurant was built within the heart of Riverford's Wash Farm in Devon. Nestled between farm fields, the Riverford Field Kitchen serves veg-centric seasonal feasts for brunch, lunch, and supper. Most of the ingredients are grown just metres away, in our kitchen garden and polytunnel, and harvested fresh that day.
Riverford won the tenancy of Sacrewell Farm in Peterborough, and established our first 'sister' farm with Rob Haward at the helm. The first organic harvest was in 2009. Today, Sacrewell Farm grows 30 different crops throughout the year including our staple onions. Since 2005, we've built a state-of-the-art packing house to pack veg boxes for homes in the region, too.
Riverford started working with the University of Exeter to measure our carbon footprint (we were one of the earliest businesses to start looking at our carbon impact). This triggered early decisions about where to source produce; for example, we stopped selling veg grown in heated greenhouses, and instead developed relationships with growers in Spain, where naturally sun-ripened tomatoes and peppers had a far smaller carbon footprint.
Guy bought a farm in the Vendée region of France to meet the challenge of keeping boxes interesting during the Hungry Gap (the period after winter crops have ended but before spring crops are ready, when UK-grown veg is scarce). Guy chose the Vendée, a coastal area, for its high levels of sunlight, mild winters, plentiful water, and proximity to Devon by road.
Some franchise areas became unmanaged, so we stepped in and built our own team of drivers, known as Riverford Home Delivery, to keep things running smoothly. Along the way, we learned more about the challenges our franchisees faced. As more previously franchised areas became available, we took them on ourselves, developing strategies to make deliveries better across the board.
To mark 30 years of organic farming, we gave Riverford a fresh new look: bold, hand-painted veg, and a distinctive carrot logo, designed to spark moments of organic joy. It reflects what we’ve always believed - that amazing veg has the power to change lives.
Riverford became 74% employee owned; the culmination of five years of research, consultation, planning and culture change. Staff, now co-owners, celebrated with a memorable party followed by the first elections for our Co-owner Council. 2018 also marked the year we launched Wicked Leeks magazine, to give Riverford a stronger voice around food and farming issues.
As home delivery evolved, being agile and working as one team became key - for technology, logistics, and important regulations like GDPR. Overseeing lots of separate franchises made it harder to adapt and improve, so, to better serve our customers, we decided to put a five-year plan in place to transition to fully in-house deliveries. We've worked closely with our franchisees to make this transition as smooth as possible. Keeping things simple, reliable, and true to our values.
2020 was a big year for Riverford. To meet customer needs during the Coronavirus pandemic, we shifted to delivering veg boxes only, ensuring we could keep delivering good food when people needed it most. It was also the year we became a B Corp (the certification for ethical businesses, which balance profits with people and planet) - earning an exceptionally high score. The B Corp certification process also highlighted areas to improve, which helped us to achieve an even higher score when we re-certified three years later. On top of all that, 2020 was the year we launched our home compostable packaging, removing all conventional plastic from our fruit and veg range.
We became accredited as a Real Living Wage Employer by the Living Wage Foundation, committing to paying co-owners a fair wage that reflects the true cost of living. The Real Living Wage is independently calculated every year, based on how much a worker really needs to cover everyday expenses such as rent, food, and utility bills. Since becoming a Real Living Wage employer in 2021, we’ve also invested even more in our lower-earning co-owners, increasing their wages by 38.5% over the last four years.
On 8th June 2023, our founder, Guy Singh-Watson, sold his final shares, and Riverford became 100% employee owned. Guy is still very much a part of Riverford: later in 2023, he led the charge on Get Fair About Farming, our most successful campaign to date. It gained enough signatures to trigger a debate in Parliament, pushing for supermarkets to offer a fairer deal for to farmers.
The final franchise areas in the South East of England have now been brought in-house. Over the past five years, several previous franchise owners have become Riverford co-owners, joining as key members of our management team, customer service team, and more. We’ve also kept most of the local drivers, who continue to deliver to customers in their communities. Some chose a new path, retraining as teachers and taking on other important roles in their local areas.
Everything we grow, make, and sell is organic. It’s better for the planet, for wildlife, for animal welfare – and for you.
As part of our plan to reach Net Zero emissions, all our vans will be electric by 2025. In some areas, we deliver to you by bike!
We follow strict ethical rules for sourcing - from always paying fellow farmers fairly, to never using air freight or palm oil.
© 2025 Riverford Organic Farmers Ltd, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0JU, UK. Registered in England No. 3731570.
