Rebel Kitchen, Chegworth Valley and Wildes cheese are among brands that have signed up to a new online platform that delivers local farmers’ wares in the UK.

Farmhopping, which aims to promote sustainable agriculture, enables producers to build a free virtual profile and sell directly to customers. In return the platform charges a 15% commission on each sale.

The concept is based on Bulgaria’s Farmhopping model which has attracted 60 farmers in the past year.

Co-founder Rossi Mitova, who set up the business with Michael Stanchev, said farmers earned almost four times more than they would selling through a supermarket. “The core of Farmhopping is about supporting farmers and trying to fix a broken industry where producers are squashed while people have no control over the quality of their food,” Rossi told The Grocer. “We started Farmhopping in Bulgaria. Our aim was to offer high quality artisan products at the convenience and affordability of the supermarket. The feedback was amazing, customers and farmers loved it.”

Currently 16 producers offering produce ranging from bread, jams, chutney, cheese, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables have registered with the UK website, which currently only delivers in London, for a £5 delivery fee.

“We handpick farmers and producers that match out farmer guidelines,” Rossi added. “We only accept farmers that use sustainable methods of production, practise responsible farming and use no pesticides…our aim is to pool together a number of high quality producers so people can get all they need for their weekly grocery shop in one place with one convenient delivery.”

Nikki Storrar, manager of Ardross Farm Shop in Fife said: “I think it’s a good idea but a lot of very small producers aren’t always geared up to next day delivery. Online is about convenience. It’s about getting right the correlation of customers’ expectations with realistic deliveries.”

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