Case Study - Nigel & Sophie Rogers

Partners in life and business, Nigel and Sophie Rogers began their Riverford Organic food delivery franchise in March 2010. One year on, Nigel talks candidly about how a chance meeting turned their business ownership dreams into reality.

Says Nigel: We were lucky, because we were able to watch a Riverford franchise in operation for quite a long time before actually making an investment. I knew Jake Swinhoe, who owns the South Oxfordshire territory, and had seen him running his franchise for about three years. He really seemed to enjoy it and do well out of it, and so I became interested in a franchise myself.

Sophie and I have always been passionate about organic food and had actually run our own horticultural business before looking at Riverford Organic. We were determined to be our own bosses, but going it alone didn’t give us what we were looking for. We’d been working every weekend, all through summer, picking vegetables on Saturday and selling them on Sunday. We did it for a year, and soon realised that we would be better off letting someone else grow the produce and deliver it to us, while we built a business at the local, customer level. Because Riverford’s organic practices and ethical beliefs are aligned with our own, a better work-life balance seemed within reach.

One year later…

The transition from our own business to taking over a franchise has been remarkably smooth. Sophie and I are a year into the business whereas Jake’s been operating for about two-and-a-half years, so he’s been able to give us useful marketing tips, letting us know what’s worked and what hasn’t. It’s good because it means you don’t have to keep phoning head office.

Trading transition

At first, quite a few people asked us how we thought we’d find it – going from running our own organic food business to representing an established brand, but it wasn’t a problem. Riverford is what we market, and it’s the name we trade in but it’s still our business. After the difficulties of trying to do absolutely everything ourselves, getting the support from head office has made life much easier.

Over the last year, the business has grown beyond expectations. With the marketing and community activity we’ve been participating in since we started, we’ve taken on around 60 new customers in the last three months, which is a good increase. We’ve really pushed at this business to drive it forward, placing ads in relevant papers and magazines as well as leafleting. The strategy has worked better than we thought it would and we’ve reached our two-year target for growth in just 18 months!

We don’t come from a marketing background, so that side of the business has been new for us but as well as head office, Jake’s been there for support when we needed it. I think that’s one of the greatest advantages of a franchise network – you can look to your neighbouring franchisee for advice.

Following the system

I attribute our success so far to simply sticking with the plan, following a tried and tested system. We keep on marketing consistently and give our customers great service by treating them the way we would like to be treated. Every few weeks we do something different, such as a cookery club where we got a local chef to cook recipes from the Riverford Organic cookbook. We supplied the produce, and charged a small overhead to cover costs. Last time we did it, everybody loved the food, and Sophie and I took on five new customers. That was a bonus, as the clubs are more about giving something back to existing customers, and creating a community feel.

Friendly franchise advice

For aspiring franchisees, I’d say go through all of the paperwork, looking at the financial year in detail. Look at what the business you want is already making and, if you’re buying a resale, look at where you might be able to increase profits. I also think talking to other franchisees is important – we were lucky to be able to go out on a round with Jake, so we knew what was involved. And we got to visit the hub where the produce is delivered which is something prospective franchisees are able to arrange to do. And I’d advise anyone to ask questions of people at the heart of the core business. Riverford head office listens to us, to our suggestions and feedback. In my opinion, that’s one of the best things about a franchise – there are so many heads coming together for the same goal.