25 Years of Great Taste

But for a freak snowstorm in 1982, the story might have ended there. Yet the family’s fortitude in the face of adversity once again won through. It was Rachel who found herself snowbound at the remote Brynllys Farm, alone with three small children and her husband in hospital with a broken ankle! With no prospect of milk tankers reaching the farm through the snow drifts, they were awash with milk whilst their water supplies were frozen. Industriously, Rachel set about feeding the calves with skimmed milk, whilst potting up the cream and reviving Grandma Bessie’s dairy recipes, using her old butter churning equipment.

Distributing what produce she could to local villages, by the time the snows eventually cleared and Gareth returned home, the dream of creating their own organic dairy was born. The farm’s delicious Guernsey milk, cream and Grandma Bessie’s butter recipes were to play their part but it was Rachel’s own original yogurt recipes that were to become the cornerstone of the family’s future fortune.

Against all odds, but with a passion born of absolute conviction, in the mid 1980s Rachel and Gareth were pivotal in persuading giants such as Sainsbury’s to take organic food seriously. Moreover, they paved the way for small regional producers to engage with supermarkets to change perceptions of organics from a niche concern to the mainstream interest it is today. Their passion for pure, natural food led to the establishment of one of Britain’s most successful organic companies and the eponymous Rachel’s brand was born.