Summary:
What is a vegetable box scheme?
Vegetable box schemes have grown rapidly in the last few years and total retails sales through box schemes are now in excess of £100m per year. There are now several hundred certified organic vegetable box schemes operating in the UK. A number of different models exist, but all are based around the central principle of delivering a box of fresh, locally grown, seasonal organic produce either directly to the customer's home or to a central drop off point. Many box schemes offer a range of box sizes to choose from, thereby catering for a range of household sizes. A number also offer customers the opportunity of choosing the contents of their box. Most box schemes which grow their own produce for the boxes have a very local delivery area. Others are larger businesses buying in from UK farms, wholesalers and importers and delivering more widely, They often also supply fruit, dairy produce, meat, wines and wholefoods.
The most important factors for a successful box scheme are consistently high quality, variety of produce, value for money and reliable delivery.
Benefits to consumers
In the face of increasing globalisation of the food industry there has been an enormous amount of public concern about food quality and food production methods. Be it because of food scares, genetic modification, over-processed and over-packaged food or food which travels thousands of miles around the country globe before it reaches our plates - people are looking for alternatives. Box schemes are one type of local food scheme that offers consumers access to fresh, healthy local produce at reasonable prices. What could be more convenient than to have a box of seasonal produce delivered to your home or neighbourhood? Customers value the personal contact and receiving fresh vegetables, usually picked the same day. They never know exactly what will be in the box and enjoy the element of surprise. Many of them discover the seasonality of British vegetables for the first time.
Benefits to producers
There any many benefits for the producer. Establishing direct contact with customers removes the sense of isolation that is often associated with modern industrial agriculture. Growers can also respond directly to customer requests and there is less wastage because they know what they harvest will be sold. Gone is the heart-break of picking perfect vegetables which must rot because the supermarket has changed its order. There is no need to grade out good food because it doesn’t fit the packaging. A secure and loyal market is established and financial returns are increased as the middle-man is cut out. Direct marketing provides producers with an economically and environmentally sustainable business.
Marketing
The first step is to carry out some research to find out about similar schemes which already exist locally. Look into what lessons have been learned. Starting a box scheme requires a potential market. Promote your idea locally. Speak to potential customers – playgroups, gardening groups, health groups, members of local environmental or conservation groups. Write an article for a local paper or arrange a talk. Leaflet households and doorknock an area. A half- price trial box can be effective.
Growing, distributing and packing for a box scheme
Growers can plan their planting with reasonable certainty that what they grow will be sold at a price which will sustain them. But they must be able to provide a wide range of vegetables of good quality for as many months of the year as possible and ensure that the range of produce grown is required by potential customers. Around 50 varieties seems to be the norm.
Many growers continue to run their box scheme throughout the year by using polytunnels to extend the growing season and through buying in from other farms and imports. However, due to the spring hungry gap, if box schemes don't want to buy-in they shut down for a few months, usually April-June when the winter crops are over and the summer crops aren't yet ready. Committed customers do tend to remain loyal and despite having to source their organic produce from elsewhere for the intervening period, enthusiastically signing up to their vegetable box scheme again after the hungry gap. A number of box schemes are now also offering a variety of other produce which can be delivered with the weekly vegetable box such as organic fruit, dairy produce, eggs, bread and meat which are either produced on the farm as well or bought in.
A box system requires at least one day a week for packing boxes. Two or three sizes of box (small, family and bumper) are usually offered to attract a wide variety of customers. Good organisation is needed. The first step is to decide, depending on demand and availability, the amount of each vegetable to harvest. The second step is to fill each of the different boxes equally. It is possible to weigh all the produce, but this is likely to be much too time consuming and most schemes fill by eye based on an initial weighing session. Weighing scales must be checked by Trading Standards.
Systems do vary – some customers are allowed to specify ‘dislikes’ and allergies and choose replacement produce. Others don't feel able to offer such choice due to the additional administration necessary. If possible offering more choice attracts a greater range of customers.
Try and minimise the amount of packaging you use. Packaging will depend on how the produce is transported and delivered. Boxes, carrier bags and sacks are commonly used. Re-use of packaging is vital to keep costs down and for environmental reasons so it is important to encourage customers to return their boxes or bags each week.
Prices seem to be pitched around conventional supermarket prices, or a little above greengrocer prices. It is important that produce represents good value for money.
Delivery
Transport can be a significant cost factor, particularly in rural areas. Planning routes and organising multiple ‘drop-off’ points will help to reduce these costs. Delivery is obviously easier if a central drop off point can be organised. Actively seeking out local shops and post offices as drop off points can bring huge benefits to these outlets by attracting additional custom to them and may provide more flexible hours for collection. Otherwise enthusiastic customers can be used - offering an incentive free box can help to locate them.
Co-operating with other local growers
If you cannot provide the full range of vegetables, one solution is to join or create a co-operative. As well as providing a large variety of produce, a co-operative can be responsible for packaging and delivery. Some growers aren't interested in running a scheme themselves preferring to concentrate on growing the produce for a local box scheme. It can often be useful to tie up with a range of local producers, some growing field scale staples such as onions, carrots and potatoes, and others concentrating on protected cropping, for example. The scope for growers to co-operate is there and growers can concentrate on the crops which suit them best, avoid gluts and share marketing and distribution costs.
Some box schemes are not necessarily run by growers themselves but are managed by others who buy produce from the farms and distribute it through a box scheme. Some growers prefer this arrangement so they can focus on growing crops and someone else looks after the local marketing.
Managing Growth
The growth in customer numbers needs to be well managed. A vegetable box system very often brings customers who come by word of mouth alone and it can often be worthwhile to offer regular customers an incentive to tell their family and friends by offering say one free veg box for every 4 new customers. Initial increases can be managed as a development of the farm, allowing the farmer to diversify vegetable production. In time, additional potential customers can be put on a waiting list. This provides a comforting safety net if the number of customers decrease. Every query should be recorded and responded to so that the potential customers feel valued and are happy to be put on a waiting list.
Sources of organic food
If you would like to set up a box scheme using bought in produce, you will soon realise that demand for organic food far outstrips supply. To help you research organic outlets the Soil Association sells The Organic Directory which lists box schemes, farm shops and independent retailers in the UK. The Soil Association also produces lists of certified organic producers, processors and wholesalers which are available. A key question to consider is: how important is 'local'? Are you prepared to sell non-local food through your box scheme? If so, how do you define local and how much non-local food will you allow? You can try to encourage local producers to consider certification; and look at small-scale supply through places such allotments, community gardens. Or, alternatively, get growing yourself!
Communication
Many successful box schemes have identified the need for continuous communication with their customers to make them feel involved in the farm, by producing regular newsletters with information about such things as the crops, events on the farm, recipes and what's in season. Some box schemes produce a welcome pack for new customers with a whole range of information ensuring that they are aware of the benefits of the box scheme. This can include information such buying local organic produce, seasonal information, how to store the vegetables, veg box and payment choices, farm walks, seasonal celebrations on the farm, the story of the farm and recipes especially for less well known vegetables.
Good information is also important to engage new customers as due to holidays, moving house and changing shopping needs, people do fall off the bottom of the list and need replacing.
Becoming a registered organic, producer, packer or distributor
Organic food produced to Soil Association organic standards is a trusted way of ensuring that human health, the natural environment and animal welfare is protected. For licensed organic producers who pack and supply only their own produce this can be included in their own producer licence. For those who buy in some or all of their organic produce and pack this down into retail size quantities for sale to their customers, then this operation must be inspected and certified. The cost of certification has proved to be a major deterrent for small growers in registering their produce as ‘organically grown’. Contact Soil Association Certification Ltd for further information about setting up as a registered box scheme on tel: 0117 914 2406.
Business Planning and Financing
You will need to produce a business plan setting out the costs and projected income and growth of your scheme. This will help set out any potential problems which will need to be tackled and it will also help convince other people that what you are proposing is viable.
You may be able to get grants for starting a business or co-op for researching the market. Sources may include your local authority economic development department. Or contact your local Business Link or co-op development agency. In a rural development area you may be able to access business development grants and if you are a producer you may be able to access agricultural development grants. Contact the local office of DEFRA in the first instance. Loans are also available particularly from ethical investment banks and building societies.
From the Soil Association (T: 0117 914 2400, E: ff@soilassociation.org, W: www.soilassociation.org/foodandfarming)
- Setting up an organic box scheme, Soil Association, technical guide, £5.00 (inc. p&p)
- Marketing information for organic growers (Horticultural Crops), briefing paper, £5.00 (inc. p&p), free to Soil Association licensees and food and farming members
- Growing organic vegetables for a box scheme, briefing paper, £5.00 (inc. p&p), free to Soil Association licensees and food and farming members
- Farm Management Handbook 2007, University of Wales, £18.00 (inc. p&p)
- Local Food for Local People: Practical Guide to Developing Sustainable Local Food Economies, Soil Association, 1998, £10.00 (inc. p&p)
- Cultivating Co-operatives: organisational structures for local food enterprises, a toolkit to help local food enterprises develop their organisations, allowing them to work effectively and achieve their aims, £18.00 (inc. p&p) or free pdf from www.soilassociation.org/localfood
- The Organic Directory 2007, Soil Association and Green Books, £8.95 or accessible for free on www.whyorganic.org
- Soil Association Local Food website has related briefing papers, case studies on successful box schemes, links to useful organisations and lots of further information. It can be accessed via www.soilassociation.org/localfood
From other sources
- The Boxing Clever Cookbook by J Jones and J Wilmot, £9.99 plus £2.50 p&p. A wonderful cookbook for customers of box schemes and one that box scheme operators may like to promote to their customers. It contains very useful information about box schemes, CSA, storage of vegetables, monthly farming news and seasonal recipes. Available from J&J Publishing, T: 01343 850 123, E: jj@theboxingclevercookbook.co.uk, W: www.theboxingclevercookbook.co.uk
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