HEALTH FEATURE
RIVERFORD ORGANIC FARMERS Chris and Mary Watson
Chris and Mary launched their Riverf ord business in April 2007. Their territory covers Sheff ield, Chesterf ield and Barnsley
What did you do before franchising and what prompted the move into working for yourself? And why with Riverford? We’d been mulling over the idea to set up, or buy, our own business for a few years. I worked in advertising and Mary worked in admissions at the University of Warwick. We both wanted a change and were keen to move to Sheffi eld, where Mary is from. Before we became franchisees, we
were customers of Riverford Organic in Leamington Spa, where we were living at the time. We were really impressed with the produce and the ethos of the business. So, when we found out that they were looking for new franchisees in the north of England, we jumped at the chance. Partnering with Riverford as a franchisee ticked all the boxes.
How did you get on board? What training did you receive? Once we’d found out about the opportunity we arranged to meet with the franchising team at The National Franchise Exhibition in Birmingham. After a few minutes we realised it was something we wanted to pursue, so we headed down to the Devon HQ the following week to fi nd out more! We were given a good overview of the business and what the franchise would involve. After this, we entered the business planning process. We talked to lots of existing franchisees, joined them on some taster days, met with the Riverford management team, and thoroughly researched the marketplace. When we were in the process of fi nishing our business plans, everything became
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rather hectic – Mary went into labour two months before her due date, and our son Zachary was born on 8 December 2006, seven weeks premature. We still managed to get everything in on time and found out our application had been successful just before Christmas. April 2007 was scheduled for the launch of our business, so the next few months were a blur of selling our house, working my notice and getting to grips with being new parents! We spent a training week in Devon, learning more about the systems and meeting with various teams. We were then ready to launch the business!
“We’re proud to be part of such an ethical and progressive business”
What ongoing support do you receive? We’ve received a good level of support from our fi rst day. We developed a launch marketing plan with the franchise team and were then joined on our fi rst day of deliveries by one of the managers. We’re in regular contact with other franchisees and have regular meetings with the management team, as well as
the annual franchisee conference. The conference is a great time to catch up with franchisees from across the country, receive a business update from the directors and, of course, enjoy some fantastic food cooked by the Riverford chefs. We also have a regional manager we can call on for advice and support.
How has life changed since you started franchising? Life has changed a great deal. We’ve moved to a new house, started a business and become parents. One of our main aims was to improve our work-life balance and the franchise has enabled us to do that. We can work around family commitments and the commute is now a short walk to the offi ce in the garden. Over the 11 years we’ve been running the franchise we’ve grown from a startup territory to a viable and profi table business with employees. In any business there’ll be ups and downs but, overall, we’re really pleased we decided to go for it.
Would you recommend franchising to others? Yes. We’re running our own business and have a good amount of autonomy, but we also have the backing of a successful franchisor and the support of other franchisees. We’re proud to be part of such an ethical and progressive business.
What are your future plans? We’re focused on growing the business. Riverford has ambitious plans for growth and we’re keen to play our part.
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