Waitrose cements its support for Woodside Farms

Monday 06 July 2015

New produce from Woodside Farms will be available in all five Waitrose branches in the Channel Islands starting today.

Waitrose will start with 25 product lines from Woodside, ranging from salad and green vegetables to root vegetables. This will be expanded throughout the year with the aim of covering Waitrose core assortments by the end of 2015.

During a recent visit to Jersey, Sir Charlie Mayfield, the head of the John Lewis Partnership, said that he would like to see all Waitrose core vegetables and herbs sourced locally.

“The knowledge that a product is sourced or produced locally is becoming increasingly important and this is partly why we’ve worked so hard to create really strong own-brand product lines at Waitrose and build links with great local suppliers. By this Autumn, we’re aiming for 100% of the core line of Waitrose’s vegetables and herbs to be sourced from the Channel Islands,” he said.

Charlie Gallichan from Woodside Farms said: “The invaluable support from companies like Waitrose has enabled us to expand our business and start to supply local supermarkets. In particular Gary Grace, the fresh food buyer for Waitrose in the Channel Islands, helped us identify what new product lines were needed, what potential business opportunities were available and generally gave us the confidence to expand the business.”

Mr Grace said: “The Channel Islands have always been known for their fresh produce and we don’t want to stop now. As a business, it’s key that we continue to support the community we’re in and, for us, that includes the assurance that our customers have access to locally sourced produce.”