Our History
WestCountry is the oldest and largest specialist wholesaler of fresh produce in the south west. From our humble beginnings provisioning ships in the port of Falmouth, we have grown progressively over recent decades adding product ranges to complement our core fresh produce heritage and meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers. We now distribute thousands of products every day through a stable of trusted brands, with a market leading seven day a week delivery service that makes us the one-stop shop for foodservice and high quality independent retailers across the south west.
First established in 1856, the business gradually built an unrivalled network of dedicated high quality local growers of seasonal fresh produce, as well as direct supply links with all national and international fresh produce markets. The decline of the traditional high street greengrocer, as a sector and key customer through the proliferation of supermarkets, not only reshaped the high street and consumer habits, but forced our business to develop new customer channels and product ranges beyond our traditional fresh produce ranges. Fortunately, this coincided with a boom in regional tourism and the first shoots of what was to become a revolution in the quality & quantity of dining out across our region. WestCountry Fruit Sales has now developed into the leading wholesaler of local, regional and imported produce in the South West of England.
The Essential Food Company was established in 1998, providing a full range of chilled and dried foods along with all the necessary kitchen essentials. Whether customers needed a sack of flour, a drum of oil or a catering pack of washing up liquid, our huge stockholding ensured that every one of those essential products was accessible every day. Acting as a ‘virtual storeroom’ for customers, the Essential Food Company provided ultra-short lead time access to a complete range of chilled foods and dry goods. This market leading daily delivery service across this product range was and still is unique, providing customers with the everyday value and choice that they expected from their existing National and regional suppliers of these ranges, but with a far superior level of delivery service and customer care.
Plough to Plate was established to provide a vital connection between small scale artisan producers and potential retail and foodservice customers across the region. The scale and flexibility of our logistics operation provides local artisan producers with cost effective and efficient distribution, as well as vital marketing channels for their products. Driven by a passion for interesting ingredients our dedicated team have curated over 2000 fine food products from across our great ‘foodie’ region, making Plough to Plate the source of the finest foods in the south west. This eclectic range includes hand crafted artisan products from beers and breads to cakes, preserves and even seaweeds, all representing the very best of produce from across Cornwall, Devon and beyond.
We now supply customers across the private and public sectors, ranging from small cafés and independent retailers to fine dining restaurants and hotels, as well as large school groups, the care sector and hospitals. Our extensive fleet of vehicles operate from three strategically placed depots across the south west, providing a daily delivery service to over 2500 delivery points across the region. Shop owners, chefs and catering managers rely on us for our competitive pricing, high quality produce and the breadth of our product ranges, as well as valuing our first class customer service. Our market leading daily delivery service helps our customers to navigate the inevitable peaks and troughs of seasonal, weekly and even daily trading in this part of the world,
Today, the company still remains a locally focused and managed business, operating across three strategically placed depots, in order to provide the best in local produce, service and customer care to all our customers right across the region. WestCountry is operated by a dedicated team of highly experienced and knowledgeable staff. We are passionate about what we do, our teams are dedicated to providing every one of our customers with the highest levels of satisfaction every day, no matter how large or small they may be. In addition to providing access to the finest selection of fresh produce, WestCountry customers enjoy genuinely market-leading levels of customer service and delivery frequency, with deliveries as often as 7 days a week and up to three times a day, depending on location and time of year.
