Game Changers: Guy Singh-Watson, the vegetable box retailer
Guy Singh-Watson © Richard Stanton Devon farmer Guy Singh-Watson has been nominated for our special Game Changers Award, which will be announced at Farmers Weekly Awards on 3 October 2024.
Guy started delivering home-grown organic vegetables in a wheelbarrow to friends 30 years ago. Today, Riverford is a national veg box scheme with 70,000 weekly customers.
“There was never a plan – but I wanted to do something useful with my life,” says Guy.
“I trace it back to values I inherited from my father – he was of that post-war generation who came out of the army and he decided to do something useful growing food.”
See also: Grower helps develop Teli-squeeze grab for veg boxes
What is a Game Changer?
This unique category – created to mark the 20th anniversary of the Farmers Weekly Awards – recognises individuals who have driven innovation that has had a positive impact on food and farming in the past 20 years.
Nominees might be professionals, academics, scientists, researchers, environmentalists, or anyone else making significant contributions to the agricultural industry.
Read more about the Game Changer Award.
At a glance: Guy Singh-Watson
- Founder of Riverford organic vegetable box delivery company
- Shows that sustainable farming can be ethical and profitable
- Employees are shareholders and own 100% of the business
- Inspiration for dozens of direct-to-consumer farm retailers
Riverford’s model of delivering affordable organic food direct to consumers has inspired dozens of similar businesses – and shown that sustainable farming can be successful while remaining true to its values.
“All the environmental stuff came later,” says Guy.
“It might have been in my subconsciousness somewhere, but I wasn’t aware of it being a motivator. It was about feeding people, helping them to live fulfilling lives and earn a decent living.
‘Unbridled success’
The box scheme was an unbridled success from day one – although there have been bumps along the way.
There was a bit of a dip following the economic downturn in 2008, but today Riverford continues to go from strength to strength.
“We’re essentially an internet retailer now – my ability to grow potatoes is no longer particularly relevant. But our ability to manage the website and run the IT and customer management systems is really important.
“Our values haven’t changed – what’s changed over the years is that we’ve developed the ability to turn those values into reality.
“And that’s down to the people around me who have the skills to run what is now a sizeable business.
Never driven solely by profit, in 2018 Guy sold 74% of Riverford to his employees for about one-quarter of its value.
Today, the company is 100% employee owned – similar to John Lewis – with staff having a say in its future.
Thinking differently
“I’ve never suffered a moment’s regret,” says Guy. “The last 26% I did sell pretty much at market value – and I did very well out of it. I’m a multimillionaire and no additional money would have any chance of making me any happier.
“A direct consumer model isn’t for everyone, but it’s hard to see a future for farmers selling commodities to supermarkets. You just get driven down to the lowest possible cost of production. We’ve seen it in poultry, in pigs and now we’re seeing it in dairy.
“My advice to anyone who wants to farm differently is to be clear about what you’re doing differently. Be in control of your own marketing.
“Develop your brand, understand your customers – the people who eat your food – and deliver what they want.
A word from our sponsor 
Lightsource bp is an international solar business. Our long-running relationship with farmers and the UK farming industry, and our commitment to bolstering the rural economy is why Game Changers is such a good fit for our business – we’re proud to be sponsoring an award celebrating the pioneers of the sector.