Tag Archives: Jason Gissing

Ocado Opens UK’s first web ‘Livestock-Shop’ this weekend

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ONLINE SUPERMARKET, Ocado, opens the . Proving that fresh really is best, the new delivery service, in partnership with Daylesford organic farm, will provide customers with a number of live farm animals to produce their own milk and eggs. All available to order from Sunday, 1st April.

The modern day ‘Tom and Barbara’, seeking out The Good Life, will be impressed with Ocado’s offering of livestock from Daylesford’s organic farm in Gloucestershire. Ranging from a single chicken, to a flock of rare hens, and even cows, the online grocer’s fifteenth ‘shop in shop’ caters to those looking to have the freshest produce delivered straight to their door.

To ensure that all animals go to the right ‘farmer’, potential buyers will have their property inspected by the new Ocado farm team, headed by Daylesford’s Senior Farm Manager, Richard Smith. Once homes have been found fit, the in-house team will provide buyers with invaluable urban farm knowledge – from building chicken coops, to milking a cow.

The newly developed Ocado farm van provides a spacious environment for the livestock travelling from the heart of Gloucestershire. Fitted with fresh grass from the West Country and incorporating a state-of-the-art shower spritz and drying system, the farm animals will be truly fresh when they arrive at their new grazing ground.

Following the success of their first online farmshop, launched on Ocado.com in September 2011, Daylesford CEO, Jamie Mitchell, said: “There is a growing market of allotment owners who want to produce more than boring runner beans and cabbages. At Daylesford, we are lucky enough to farm 2,000 acres in the Cotswolds, and wish to give Ocado shoppers the opportunity to farm their own animals, giving them the freshest milk and eggs.”

Ocado co-founder, Jason Gissing commented: “Ocado is dedicated to making life easier for its customers and, on our mission to becoming a food emporium, we strive to provide our shoppers with more of what they want.

“Just like our customers, we strongly believe that fresh is the best, hence why our fresh fruit and vegetables are already handled less than they would be at a traditional supermarket – fresh produce is touched only once or twice before being delivered. It’s also why we guarantee that we’ll never sell products right up to their ‘use by’ date. Ocado’s Daylesford Livestock-Shop is the next step in providing our shoppers with the freshest produce available.”

Prices are as follows:

· Daylesford Legbar Hen – £25

· Heritage Gloucestershire Cow – £1000 to £1500

· British Friesian Cow – £1000 to £2000

More Brie Vicar?

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Sales of French Products soar over British counterparts

Brits are stocking their cupboards high with French produce, tapping into the long-standing view that the French are always one step ahead when it comes to style, according to new sales data from online supermarket Ocado.

Sales of French Saucisson (sausage) have risen by 169 per cent more than its British counterpart Gammon over the past two years.

French Aioli (garlic mayonnaise) has become increasingly popular with sales up 400 per cent, versus a more conservative growth of Hellmann’s Light Mayo, at just 35 per cent.

With over 20 per cent of Brits describing the French as “stylish”, our Gallic neighbours may well be top of the list when it comes to dinner party invitations, but we also want their expertise to hand when it comes to the food being served up from UK kitchens.

Everyday French items such as Brie are also fast becoming UK household essentials. According to a survey by Ocado, just 6 per cent of Brits name the British classic Red Leicester as their favourite cheese, with twice that amount (11 per cent) preferring Brie.

To mark this burgeoning culinary trend, and announce Ocado’s new partnership with French hypermarket Carrefour, a 6ft sculpture of the Eiffel Tower, made from cheese, has taken up temporary residence amongst London landmarks Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Created by renowned sculptor Prudence Staite, the artwork, which took 504 hours to sculpt, is made from a fusion of UK and French cheeses – English Cheddar and Reflets de France Tomme de Savoie, a creamy yet mild cheese.

The sculpture celebrates the fact that UK customers can now fill their baskets with a mouth-watering array of French charcuterie, cheeses, patés, biscuits, jams and confectionery, courtesy of Ocado.

Jason Gissing, co-founder of Ocado said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of the Reflets de France range. With over 350,000 French nationals living in London alone, the sculpture celebrates a major advance in Ocado’s stated long-term strategy of offering the most varied and refined home delivery grocery range available to the UK’s uniquely diverse population and puts us at the forefront of UK food trends. Let’s hope that the introduction of more French goods will keep our customers ahead in the culinary style stakes, whether it’s for dinner parties with friends or rustic home-cooked meals for the family.”