BFC are at the cutting edge of working for a more sustainable planet.

While our main focus is organic food and farming, we are campaigners and retailers of ethical and fair trade products as well as organic groceries. The company has what we term an organic supermarket with a Café, an expanding growing operation on 25 acres, from 2010, sited near Chew Magna, North Somerset All the produce is sold through our shop, our veg boxes and some restaurants. The shop has a strong local community following and provides a ones stop shop for those wishing to shop local, ethical and organic.

Business vision

The vision for BFC is:

to connect and enable people, and especially our local communities, to live sustainably in a more and more challenging world;

to share and celebrate our passion for food and community; and

to build a business which offers hope and solutions in ways that put people first.

Business aims

Five year Plan:
The Better Food Company continues to develop what we do now. We aim to expand to further sites if the opportunity arises and to build a brand for BFC which is tied into our mission statement. It is envisaged that BFC will become a retail-only company, with the farming and box scheme being taken over as part of a Community Farm project.

Business philosophies and beliefs

BFC believe it is vital that we use every opportunity to make connections with our food sources, to share our food with others and celebrate achievements and milestones.

In business, we work with our customers and suppliers as openly as possible, building long term relationships and commitment on a platform of trust and community.

Our staff are key to the success of the business and it's sense of community and spirit. We try to be fair open and inclusive, even if sometimes this means being tough.

Business mission

The Better Food Company exists to:

Make organic food available to all while being true to the needs of the farmer and the soil;

Provide a centre where food is at the heart of the community for celebration and unity;

Highlight the links between soil, plant, animal and man;

Provide everything possible to allow our customers to get what they need to live an environmentally friendly life, all in one journey;

Inform and include our children through our various schemes;

Campaign for a world where nobody is exploited, one in which we work in harmony with Nature and not against it;

Prove that being ethical is the best way to survive in this world.

Business Information

Date established:: 1992 as sole trader, 1998 as limited company
Contact details: Phil Haughton, Director phil.haughton@btinternet.com tel +44 (0)7967 396 894
Business structure Help Basic business structures under UK law include: sole trader, partnership, private company limited by shares, private company limited by guarantee, community interest company, public limited company, private unlimited company, and franchise.: Company limited by shares
Address of company headquarters: The Bristol Proving House, Sevier Street, Bristol, BS2 9LB
Countries of operations: UK
Countries where goods and/or services are sold: UK
Size of workforce: 48
Financial year Help The 12 months used as a company's accounting period. This may or may not be a calendar year.: 1st April to 31st March
Turnover (last financial year) Help Income that the business receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. Also known as total revenue, total sales or the top line.: GBP 1,600,000
Profit (last financial year) Help Gross profit is the total turnover minus cost of sales. Net profit is the turnover minus all expenses, including payroll and tax. Businesses are asked to state gross profit, net profit or both. This field can be left blank.: GBP 5,000
Details of owners: Phil Haughton 80%, Gerraldine Hill-Male (secretary) 10%. 6 Other small investors share the rest.
Directors' other business interests Help Businesses are asked to list other directorships held by their directors and company secretary: None.

Goods and Services

The Better Food Company is a provider of organically grown food products, including 2,500 grocery lines, and eco-friendly household goods, clothing, kitchenware, gifts and gardening tools. Having a total of 4,500 product lines under one roof makes them more easily accessible to consumers.

We provide a wholesale service, supplying restaurants, shops, other box schemes and Café.

For wholesale orders, we can be rather flexible and provide you with free delivery.

Within our large store we have a Café. This offers reasonably priced food, and organic fair trade coffee.

Fruit and vegetables are grown by the company at a site 10 miles from Bristol, close to Chew Magna, north Somerset, This new growing operation started in 2009 and will become a Community Farm, owned by its members, in 2010.

At the heart of our services we have a vegetable box scheme.

Business Responses

All business responses to the SEE Questionnaire are made available for public scrutiny, comment and rating.

If you wish, please offer comments and ideas of your own and rate responses for clarity and/or policy quality. A business can use your ideas and suggestions to improve their SEE practices and performance. If you don't think what the business says is accurate, or think it is incomplete or misleading, please challenge the response.

Click on a topic area to reveal business responses:

Community Relations

Community Relations is about a business in a social and economic context. A business can strongly influence the quality of life not only for employees, but also for the wider community in which it operates. It is recognised that a sustainable community promotes sustainable business.

Corporate Governance

Corporate governance is about how a business is structured and whether rights, responsibilities and duties are clearly set out and understood. These issues are critical in maintaining accountability and providing strong decision-making functions.

This section provides an opportunity for a company to indicate how it remains honest, transparent, equitable and reputable in its conduct. These objectives are relevant to any business whether large or small.

Donations and Payments

To whom and exactly how companies make donations and payments, including those to charitable organisations, professional associations and government, are extremely complex issues. It is important that companies disclose their corporate donations, publish their payments and explain what they hope or expect to receive in return.

Environment

Natural resources are vital to sustain our lives and lifestyle. This section looks at the impact business operations have on the physical environment. It is not always easy to address the challenges, but companies have the opportunity to show the problems they face and how they tackle them.

Human Rights

This section is about how businesses ensure that their operations do not violate the fundamental rights of individuals and communities at home or abroad. Businesses have the opportunity to examine this issue with regards to their own practices, supply chains and business relationships.

Marketplace Ethics

This section is about how businesses handle consumer rights and wider welfare issues. Many of the questions cover areas where there is a fair amount of legislation and regulation: it is an opportunity for businesses to show how they go beyond a legal minimum to address ethical issues in the marketplace.

Workforce

It is widely acknowledged that people are the most valuable asset to any business. In this topic, the questions are addressing the treatment of workforce. It is quite diverse but the focus is on promoting a fair, equitable, honest and supportive work environment.