Oils
Rapeseed Oil
Chili Oil
Dressings
Classic Vinaigrette
Balsamic Dressing
Honey & Mustard
Chili & CuminOur team headed to the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards last week—an annual event that celebrates local food and drink suppliers, growers, and producers in Northampton. It was wonderful to be in a room with other like-minded folks, all striving for the same thing: to ensure the food we grow and create in the county is not just delicious and high in quality but also sustainable, ethical, and beneficial to everyone along the production line.
The Farming Environment Award is sponsored by Weetabix and recognises protocol growers who have supplied Weetabix within the last two years. It looks at growers who have taken meaningful steps to reduce the environmental impact of wheat growing, whilst taking measurable actions to reduce carbon footprint, promote biodiversity and practice regenerative agriculture.
We are so proud of our farm’s sustainable credentials and our ongoing work to promote biodiversity, so when Farrington’s Farm was announced as the winner of the GOLD award, we were naturally delighted! Of course, it’s always wonderful to win an award, but when it recognises the work, time, effort, and collaborative journey our team has been on to nurture our land and help it thrive, it is even more special.
Here are some of the reasons that led to our award win:-
– We are committed to regenerative agriculture and environmental preservation. And we are always looking at ways in which we can nurture our soil to ensure all of our crops, from wheat to make Britain’s favourite breakfast cereal, to rapeseed which we press on site to make Mellow Yellow cold pressed rapeseed oil is the absolute best it can be.
– We are a LEAF Marque accredited producer and a LEAF demonstration farm. This means we have been independently verified under LEAF’s robust sustainability credentials.
– We stopped ploughing in 1998 and practice minimum and zero tillage to establish crops. Allowing worms and other little soil beasties to create a healthy soil full of life to help us grow our crops.
– To date, around 6,000 trees and over 8km of hedges have been planted, along with extensive wildlife habits created, improved, and maintained around the farm.
– Our farm was certified Carbon Neutral in 2020.
– A network of over 8km of well-maintained public rights of way invites people to enjoy the countryside.
Find out more about our approach to sustainability and our credentials.
We’re GBC accredited!
“I have always been adamant that we strive to do the right thing and do it to the best of our ability.” says Duncan Farrington. Whether this is in our private life, or in our business endeavours. The environment has been at the heart of Farrington’s Mellow Yellow from the start, which we are well recognised for, but beyond this we ensure that we work in a respectful way. Whether this being looking after our most important asset in our staff team; working with our dedicated suppliers in sourcing the best materials, services and ingredients and, ensuring we pay those suppliers promptly; working with our trusted customers who sell the values of our Farrington’s Mellow Yellow products; or indeed ensuring we pay our taxes correctly.
To my mind honesty and integrity are the simple and only way to run a successful business for the long term – I like to do business with people I like to do business with. We have tried to ensure we work in an honest and trustworthy way from the start, ensuring that every bottle of Mellow Yellow offers great value, produced with great values. Therefore, we were delighted to learn about the Good Business Charter which recognises that businesses like Farrington’s should be recognised for their good work.
We’re delighted to announce that Farrington Oils has recently achieved accreditation with the Good Business Charter! This accreditation, open to UK businesses and organisations of all sizes, recognises responsible business behaviour across ten key components. We feel that it is important to be accountable in the way we do business, and by gaining accreditation we are demonstrating our commitment to our staff, suppliers, customers and the environment. If you would like to find out more, please visit the GBC website.
Chairman of the GBC Board, Simon Fox, said: “The Good Business Charter brings together 10 standards, most of which already exist, but in separate places. We have brought them together to give a coherent overall position for businesses to aspire to. We believe that the GBC has enormous potential to change business practice for good.”
What is the GBC?
The Charter is an initiative developed and overseen by the Good Business Foundation, an independent charity established by entrepreneur Julian Richer. Working with organisations including the Trade Unions Congress, Institute of Directors and Federation of Small Businesses, they have set a benchmark for responsible business practice, which is accessible to all.
The Good Business Charter is a clear indicator that differentiates those organisations that can commit to our 10 components from those who cannot. The Good Business Charter exists for all companies and charities across all industries and sectors and works through a simple online self-certification process. The GBC and its members seek to inspire many other businesses to follow suit.
The GoodBusiness Charter brings together ten standards, most of which already exist, but in separate places. They are:
Real Living Wage
Fairer Hours and Contracts
Employee Well-Being
Employee Representation
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Environmental Responsibility
Pay Fair Tax
Commitment To Customers
Ethical Sourcing
Prompt Payment to Suppliers
What will GBC Accreditation bring to Farrington Oils?
-We commit to pay our directly employed and regularly contracted staff the real living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
-We commit to communicating and using fair, transparent contracts for our employees that are mutually beneficial and accepted by both us and the employee. Farrington Oils does not have any zero hours contracts.
-We will actively support and encourage employee well-being treating those with legitimate sickness in a fair and respectful manner and promote access to impartial support and advice for employees with physical and mental health needs.
-We commit to having a way where every employee can make suggestions or raise issues with senior management.
-We commit to have robust measures in place to encourage diversity at key stages of recruitment, selection and retention of employees and to prevent harassment or victimisation in the workplace.
-We care about the environment and encourage the development of good environmental practice as an organisation, seeking to minimise our impact and commit to improve it.
-We commit to pay our taxes where applicable, only use tax allowances for the purpose intended, and be transparent in our relationship with HMRC.
-We have a clear commitment to our stakeholders and prioritise addressing and learning from stakeholder feedback, seeking to put negative issues right.
-We commit to ethical sourcing of anything we purchase, such as by applying standards set out in the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code where relevant.
-We commit to paying our suppliers promptly, and within at least 30 days.
If you would like any further information don’t hesitate to get in touch with us or visit the GBC website.
Another year of success at Great Taste Awards for our dressing!
We are incredibly proud of this year’s result! The judges have awarded 1 star Great Taste award to our Chilli & Cumin dressing once again and we couldn’t be happier!
The Great Taste awards are the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink awards scheme, with a panel of over 500 experts judging each product, being described as the ‘Oscars of the food world’. Every year thousands of food and drink products are entered into these prestigious awards, with only the very best products being awarded the coveted stars.
Here’s what the judges had to say about our product…
“The dressing is well-balanced with the different ingredients blending in harmony to give a tasty spicy dressing with well-judged levels of heat.”
What can it be used in?
Our Chilli and Cumin Dressing adds a fantastically vibrant flavour to anything from a simple salad to marinated salmon or chicken. We also love it as a dipping sauce. We have balanced the warm heat of chilli flakes with the gentle aroma of cumin seeds to create a deliciously daring dressing.
Looking for some cooking inspiration? We’ve got it covered…
The flavours found in our Chilli and Cumin Dressing pair perfectly when drizzled over fresh salads, roasted vegetables, fish or meat. Aromatic, spiced and versatile enough to have a starring role as a dressing, marinade and sauce, let our Chilli & Cumin Dressing add gusto to your cooking.
We’re so proud of all our brilliant products. This dressing is available from Ocado & local stockists.
The environment has always been at the heart of everything we do.
rePurpose Global is committed to tackling the plastic pollution crisis head-on by offering sustainable, eco-friendly alternatives and actively working towards a plastic-neutral future. Together, we are committed to making a tangible difference in protecting our planet and creating a more sustainable future. In this blog post, we will explore the collaboration between Farrington Oils and Repurpose Global, whilst highlighting the shared values and the transformative impact we have achieved in 2022.
Plastic Waste
Global plastic waste production has reached over 400 million tonnes annually. Just 9% of this will be recycled. Most of it will find its way into landfills or leak into nature, creating havoc across coastlines and fragile ecosystems.
Overall, rePurpose Global, has been able to recover a huge 8,845 tonnes of plastic from nature across 6 countries as of December 2022 – That’s about the weight of 491 Million plastic bottles! Of the 8,845 tonnes of plastic, a massive 862 tonnes of plastic was recovered at Project Neela Sagar alone.
Project Neela Sagar
Through Project Neela Sagar, rePurpose Global endeavours to recover over 9,000 tonnes of low-value plastic waste by 2030, while positively impacting the lives of 1,000+ informal waste collectors.
Farrington Oils and rePurpose Global understand the significance of industry leadership in driving sustainable change. By working together, we aim to inspire other businesses within the farming sector to adopt eco-friendly practices. We are deeply committed to sustainability, and our mission is to gradually reduce our plastic footprint year on year.
Becoming Plastic Neutral
You can read how we firstly became Plastic Neutral and the work we have been doing with rePurpose in a previous blog post – simply click here.
If you would like to work out your own plastic footprint, rePurpose have a simple calculator for you here and even have options for individuals to offset their personal footprints and become plastic neutral.
Sources: rePurpose, Neela Sagar 2022 report.
Success at Great Taste Awards 2022!
We are incredibly proud of our range of sustainable products! In total we have won FOUR stars across 3 products at the 2022 Great Taste Awards for our Farrington’s Mellow Yellow products this year. The judges have awarded an incredible 2 stars Great Taste award to our versatile Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil! For most products, this is their second, or even third Great Taste award but for our Smoked Oil, this is the first time it has been awarded a Great Taste star and we couldn’t be happier!
The Great Taste awards are the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink awards, with a panel of over 500 experts judging each product, being described as the ‘Oscars of the food world’. This year, 12,366 food and drink products entered into these prestigious awards, with only the very best products being awarded the coveted stars.
Here’s what the judges had to say about our products:
Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil – 2 stars: Liquid Gold! A pleasingly golden oil, lightly aromatic, clean and fresh, nutty with light brassica notes. The texture was rich and smooth. The flavour although subtle, was wonderfully nutty and buttery. Very well done.
Honey & Mustard Dressing – 1 star: Glistening dressing with mustard seeds evident and glorious wafts of rapeseed oil. We loved the nutty rich flavour from the oil and thought the sweetness of the honey balanced so well with the bright acidity. Tastes fresh and home made.
Oak Smoked Rapeseed Oil – 1 star: Delicious oil well crafted and produced. This beautiful clear, golden oil almost glistens in the glass. There is a smoky, herbaceous aroma. On tasting it is clean and creamy so it fills the mouth and the gentle smokiness comes through very well and lingers on the finish.
We’re so proud of all our brilliant products, so if you haven’t tried them all, head over to our Where to Buy page and find your local stockist!