𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱
Decentralized food systems must actively defend against corporate acquisitions.
Steward ownership structures permanently prevent independent brands from being liquidated.
Alternative governance protects producers from becoming assets for corporate exploitation.
- Pete Russell, Ooooby & DECENT Alliance
Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/G-F_UrVJm7A
Want to be a guest? Click here: /forms/d/1FudBgtwK31NV2fyAdBFJ2nA-gQneaLLHYcFr-sJ72e0/viewform?ts=698c7a05&edit_requested=true
#PeteRussell #Ooooby #FoodSupplyChain #BusinessGovernance #UKFood #FoodFounders #Entrepreneurship
Spring is the busiest time of year. We know that. But it's also exactly when having a plan matters most.
The Ooooby Business Growth course starts this Friday at 12pm. 8 weeks, every Friday lunchtime, with practical tools you can use immediately.
David has spent ten years working with box schemes and food businesses. The course covers how to make time and space to grow your business without it taking over your life.
Places are still available. And if the cost is a barrier, we now have a bursary fund, just reply to this post or send us a message.
Full details and sign up at the link in bio.
Beyond the veg box.
We surveyed 30 shops on the Ooooby platform and matched their responses with a quarter of sales data.
The clearest finding: shops with broader add-on ranges have meaningfully higher basket values. The correlation is 0.63, strong for a dataset this size.
We found three distinct bands. Core Box CSA-style schemes (1-3 add-ons) average £16.68 per order. Growing Range shops (4-7) average £21.17. Full local food hubs (8+) average £26.32. That is a £9.64 gap per order between the smallest and largest ranges.
For a shop doing 70 orders a week, that gap is roughly £35,000 a year. Same customers. Bigger baskets.
The other finding worth noting: the blocker is not customer demand. Shop operators want to offer more. Customers want to buy more. The constraint is operational. Storage, cold chain, supply reliability, packing time.
P.S. Our next Ooooby Business Growth course starts this Friday. If you run a veg box scheme, farm shop, or local food hub and want to put findings like these into practice, this is the place. Link in profile.
Most food business owners know they want to grow. They just don't know where to start.
That's exactly what this course is built around.
Over 8 weeks we cover vision and goal setting, how to retain customers, messaging, channels to market and running campaigns that actually work. Practical tools you can take away and use immediately.
If you're ready to get clear on where your business is going, come and join us.
Link in bio to reserve your place, or book a free call if you want to chat it through first.
LTV.
No, not Lettuce, Turnips & Veg 🙄
Dad joke over... it stands for Lifetime Value.
What one customer is worth over the whole time they stay with you.
It's probably the most useful number in your business. And most people have never calculated it.
Swipe through... we've broken it down.
This is the first in our In Plain English series.
One piece of jargon, explained properly, made relevant to your business.
More coming.
Do want in early on what we're building? Comment below.
You can now sign up for a 2026 Veg Box!
Enjoy the first harvest and sign up for a lovebrook veg box. Delivered straight to your door on the 28th of April
At Lovebrook We offer weekly or bi-weekly veg boxes for delivery (and collection) so it’s easy to get your greens 🥬
Our seasonal veg is grown on our chemical free and regenerative style market garden based in Lewes
So, what are you waiting for, prioritise your health this year and Head to the link in our bio to find out more!
#vegbox #vegboxscheme #ukveg
Veg boxes near me | Veg box delivery | Uk veg box
Calling the Ooooby hive mind.
We're asking farms, shops, veg boxes, food hubs and meat schemes across the network one simple question, what's actually selling alongside your core product?
A quick survey that will take just three minutes. We share everything we find.
Link in bio.
Last call for the free webinar one of our sponsors, @oooobyhq is putting on for CSA farms tonight at 6pm on Zoom.
They're explaining new features they're offering CSAs as an ecommerce platform for small farms, from managing subscriptions and operations to attracting and growing membership sustainably.
Link at @csanetwork_uk
Link the usual place. We know that many of our CSA farm members use @oooobyhq or are considering whether to use e-commerce software. This free webinar is intended to help you consider what you need for the important work you're doing.
When choosing an online sales platform, most producers look at features first:
- Can it take orders?
- Can it handle subscriptions?
- Can it manage deliveries?
Those things matter. But there’s a bigger question that often gets missed:
What happens if the platform gets sold?
History shows a clear pattern when online platforms change ownership:
- Fees go up
- Personal support disappears
- Decisions get made far away from the people actually growing food
For a small-scale food business built on trust and relationships, that can be hugely disruptive.
Even if a platform works well today, you have no guarantee it will stay that way if control passes to someone else.
That’s why Ooooby chose a different path.
Being steward-owned means:
- No option to sell out
- No sudden change in direction
- Decisions made for producers, not investors
Your route to market stays stable, so you can plan your business with confidence.
2026 is here ! Will it be the year of local , regenerative and organic? It’s time for our food systems to be part of our health systems , and part of the regeneration of landscapes & soils .
We’re now offering food boxes more flexible , convenient and personalised than ever before. And we need 20-30 more regular customers to keep the farm thriving this year and match our crop plans.
Here’s our sassy Q & A farmer bot Tracey as to why you wouldn’t not get a veg box from us
🙋 I don’t like all veg
👩🌾 you can customise and select preferences on our easy to use @oooobyhq software or just let us know your needs
🙋♂️ I can’t afford delivery fee
👨🌾 we’re offering free delivery on orders over £35 or you can pick up at one of our local hubs
🙋♀️ I can’t afford it
👩🌾 we offer a sliding scale pricing scheme and even have some donation and subsidised food boxes available - get in touch !
🙋♂️ I don’t eat that much veg
👩🌾 you can select a small veg bag , or get a fortnightly box , and pause whenever you like!
🙋♀️ I want fruit , bread , eggs , preserves , juice , tinned tomatoes , flowers and unicorns with my delivery
👩🌾 we provide all of that and so much more ! (Except the unicorns, working on it)
👩🌾 and here’s the best bit - you can try it out for 🆓 free , sign up today following link in our bio , use code AUTBAG to trial a free medium veg box delivered to your door or for hub collection
Nows the time to join the local food movement and our growing community for 2026 ! We have some exciting farm feasts , tours , recipe cards and bonus extras for any new and existing customers this year 🌱 ♥️
#local #organic #regenerativefood
50 more small-scale food producers joined the Ooooby community this year.
That means more farmers selling direct which can only be a good thing for the UK food system. And remember, because of our steward ownership, our platform can never be sold to big tech. Our users can trust that we are putting purpose over profit - it’s baked into our DNA.
Here’s to an even more abundant, resilient, community-powered 2026.🥚🌽🥕🍞🥛🥩 #localfood #smallscalefarming #knowyourfarmer #supportlocal #foodcommunity
