Horticulture into Hospitality

Cymru Wledig LPIP Horticulture into Hospitality Project April-Sept 2026

Cymru Wledig LPIP’s Horticulture into Hospitality project is a strategic initiative designed to facilitate stronger market opportunities for Welsh agroecological horticultural producers. The project links growers, distributors and hospitality venues, and promote secondary sales of Welsh produce. The project is exploring what logistical, economic and marketing support growers and venues require to strengthen B2B links and promote Welsh veg through hospitality venues. This is in line with LPIP’s mission of supporting a wellbeing economy in rural Wales, where current and future generations can enjoy good jobs, social justice and a healthy environment.

By forming a partnership between LPIP, Bwyd Powys Food (Hosted by Cultivate), Castell Howell, Hospitality venues and Horticultural Growers, the project aims to create a stable supply chain that connects local growers directly with hospitality venues.

Learnings from this partnership will be collected, analysed and widely promoted by LPIP and project partners.

Successful aspects of this pilot project can provide a model for horticultural producers in Wales seeking to develop new markets.

The project is structured into four core operational areas, known as Work Streams (WS):

Work Stream 1: Infrastructure and Systems This foundational work stream focuses on the physical and administrative capacity needed to supply commercial markets. For this pilot, it includes a strategic £6,000 capital investment at Wern Farm to procure essential post-harvest infrastructure, including refrigeration units, wash stations, stainless steel tables, and industrial scales. This equipment ensures that small-scale growers can meet professional wholesale standards.
Work Stream 2: Farm to Fork WS2 represents the core business-to-business (B2B) supply chain focus. It is dedicated to establishing and optimising the physical journey of produce from the grower (Wern Farm), to the wholesaler (Castell Howell), and finally into the kitchens of local hospitality venues. This stream evaluates the practicalities of handling, packaging, logistics, and economic viability for all parties involved.
Work Stream 3: Horticulture for Home and Hospitality This is the primary marketing, communications, and direct-to-consumer sales arm of the project. WS3 leverages the B2B supply chain to engage the public and drive direct sales. The Horticulture for Homes and Hospitality project is an innovative pilot designed to bridge the gap between local sustainable agriculture and the tourism sector. By turning holiday rentals into hyper-local food hubs, this project tackles the seasonal revenue dips experienced by market gardeners while mitigating the social friction often caused by holiday homes in rural communities.
Work Stream 4: The Welsh Growers’ Toolkit The culmination of the project’s learnings, WS4 is the creation of a practical digital toolkit designed to help other small-scale, agroecological producers expand into the hospitality sector. The toolkit includes infrastructural suggestions, logistical advice for working with wholesale distributors, and marketing methods to drive direct sales.

Find Your Local Veg Box & Support UK Growers

Want to support sustainable agriculture and enjoy field-fresh produce in your own home? Discover local growers, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) schemes, and veg box delivery platforms operating across the UK:

Ooooby (Out of our own backyards): A commerce platform that makes it easy to find and buy directly from local food hubs and growers in your area.
The CSA Network UK: Find a Community Supported Agriculture farm near you and become a member to share the risks and rewards of local farming.
Open Food Network: An open-source platform connecting shoppers directly to independent producers and community food enterprises.
Riverford: A well-established UK-wide organic farm and veg box delivery network.
The Landworkers’ Alliance: A union of farmers, growers, and land-based workers campaigning for better food systems. They offer resources and case studies on direct sales and short supply chains.
Abel & Cole An established UK-based online grocery delivery service specialising in organic, sustainable, and ethically sourced food. Founded in 1988, they deliver weekly groceries—including fruit and veg boxes, high-welfare meat, and artisanal pantry items—directly to homes in reusable, returnable packaging.
The Cotswolds Veg box Company Bringing quality and freshness to your dinner plates from farmers in The Cotswolds, The Vale of Evesham and The Wye Valley. Connecting your home with Britain’s Best Farmers.
Oddbox is a UK-based certified B Corporation that delivers surplus and “wonky” fruit and vegetables directly to customers’ doors.
GrooboxAlso known as Groobarb’s Wild Farm) is a carbon-neutral, direct-to-consumer farming business based in Cheshire, UK. Founded by David and Rebecca Fryer, it delivers freshly picked, sustainable, and minimally-packaged fruit and veg boxes straight from their farms to homes in Manchester, Cheshire, and Liverpool.
Wonky Veg box Wonky veg boxes are fresh, delicious produce subscription services that rescue surplus and imperfectly shaped fruits and vegetables from going to waste. They cost significantly less than picture-perfect supermarket veg, support local farmers, and often donate a portion of their deliveries to local food charities.

Wales specific Veg box schemes:

Glasbren Supply a weekly ‘Share of the Harvest’ bag of fresh & locally-grown vegetables, herbs and salads, all year round, to homes & hubs between the Taf & Tywi rivers in West Carmarthenshire, Wales, grown right here at Lords Park farm in Llansteffan.
Tyddyn teg A worker’s cooperative and community-owned farm nestled on the edge of Eryri National Park. We’re more than just a farm; we’re a thriving hub offering fresh, seasonal vegetables through our weekly veg box scheme (serving over 170 households!), a well-stocked farm shop, delicious sourdough bread from our on-site bakery, and a beautiful campsite for those looking to connect with nature.
Tatws Bryn Variety of box sizes available – to suit your budget and number of people catering for. All prices include delivery. All boxes have the basics of potatoes (tatws in Welsh), carrots and onions.

Please contact: info@cultivate.uk.com if you would like your independent veg box scheme added to this list.