A new online food retailer is raising the bar in the marketplace for premium-quality artisan produce by stocking ingredients used by Michelin chefs.
Launched in September with the backing of a former ASDA chief executive, Farmison.com sells seasonal ingredients from farmers who supply ingredients to Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck, the Yorke Arms, Northcote Manor and Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons.
Andy Bond, who stood down as ASDA boss last year, is the venture's principal investor through his investment vehicle Woodcliffe Associates. The founders are restaurateurs and hospitality entrepreneurs John Pallagi and Lee Simmonds.
Short for ‘farm produce is online’, Farmison.com is challenging grocery retailers at the premium end of the market such as Ocado, Riverford Organic and Abel and Cole.
The company sources produce from more than 75 British suppliers, including 31 butchery farms and 30 fruit and vegetable growers. Prioritising flavour over yield, it tends to favour meat from outdoor-grazing livestock – for example Reg Johnson's renowned Goosnargh poultry or rare-breed Middle White pork from Huntsham Court Farm in the Wye Valley – and organic fruit and vegetables.
We have harnessed the traditionally exclusive restaurant supply chain, championing independent UK farmers and producers to provide passionate foodies with a huge range of fantastic products
Farmisons.com co-founder Lee Simmonds
The retailer sells meat from 23 different livestock breeds and is already a leader in the cheese online market, with more than 50 British farm-house cheeses – many of which are exclusive to the website – courtesy of Scottish cheesemonger Iain J Mellis. With six breeds the site can already boast a greater range of beef than any of its more established rivals.
Freshest produce
Farmison.com says it aims to promote the best of British, seasonal produce. From field to plate, air miles and journey time are kept to a minimum, giving the retailer a credible claim to be among the greenest in its marketplace, as well as selling some of the freshest produce.
Top chefs who use much of the same produce sold on the site will offer tips on how best to use various ingredients as well as providing exclusive seasonal recipes.
Among them is Frances Atkins, co-owner of the Yorke Arms in Yorkshire and one of only six female Michelin chefs in the UK. “Diners will delight in knowing that they can get hold of unusual and exciting ingredients from the farmers and producers that top chefs and restaurants have always championed,” she says.
Co-founder Lee Simmonds says: “We are excited to be offering consumers an unbeatable choice of rare and superior British produce through Farmison.com. We have harnessed the traditionally exclusive restaurant supply chain, championing independent UK farmers and producers to provide passionate foodies with a huge range of fantastic products.”
With Christmas approaching, Farmisons.com is selling the ‘Ultimate Festive Hamper’, comprising a plethora of produce, such as typical Christmas fayre like clementines, cranberries and brazil nuts. There’s also the ‘Ultimate Christmas meal’, featuring everything you need for the 25 December culinary showpiece, including a free range, herb-fed bronze turkey, classic sage and onion stuffing, British goose fat and Bracken Hill Farm Cranberry Sauce.
Christmas in fact accounts for an entire section on the site, whose regular channels comprise 'butcher', 'greengrocer' or 'cheesemonger'. While the site targets the premium end of the market, bargain-seekers can seek out special offers in the ‘deals’ section.
