Rhug Estate Organic Farm Shop in Wales

OUR FARM SHOP

Corwen, Denbighshire, North Wales

When you visit Rhug Estate you will find a memorable foodie experience at one of the largest organic farms in the UK. In our Farm Shop we have hand-selected over 3,000 products with a real focus on Welsh, local and organic.

In our Farm Shop our butchers counter is stocked daily with Rhug Organic meat – which is also supplied to many of the finest hotels and restaurants around the world. There is something for everyone, whether you want a simple supper or a French-trimmed Organic Rack of Welsh Lamb. Rhug is a true farm to fork experience as you can take a walk around the organic farm, which surrounds the Farm Shop to see the animals quietly grazing for yourself. The animals are slaughtered locally and we have an award-winning team of butchers on site at Rhug. We have recently introduced sustainable packaging for our organic meat products. The introduction of new paper-based meat trays, which reduce plastic by around 80 percent compared to traditional trays, is the latest giant stride forward in Rhug’s war against the use of single use plastic. The trays are made of recyclable cartonboard with a liner that can be removed and disposed of prior to recycling. The new meat trays improve the shelf life of Rhug’s organic meat and give the consumer an extra two days on the use-by date – that means a Rhug Organic Steak will stay fresh for 12 days.

Our deli counter in the Farm Shop offers a range of Welsh, British and continental cheeses as well as charcuterie, roasted meats, pies and quiches. The shop also offers a wide selection of beers, wines and spirits, the latest Rhug Estate Wild Beauty skincare collection and a wide range of other gift items.

Nestled alongside the Farm Shop we also have our Café which offers regular visitors and tourists an all-day dining experience. Our ‘On the Hoof’ Takeaway offers Rhug’s award-winning organic burgers to those wanting food on the go. We have a wide selection of burgers on the menu, including burgers for vegan and vegetarian visitors, for those wanting to either pick-up and go, eat on the terrace, or in our heated outdoor seating area. For those who don’t have time to stop we also have our Drive Thru’, which is positioned conveniently at the main entrance to Rhug Estate. Here we offer a wide range of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, pastries and cakes, paninis and toasties, sandwiches, hot food and breakfast rolls for those who only have time for a quick stop.

If you are en route to or from the beauty of Snowdonia, secluded Llyn Peninsula and stunning Welsh coastline, then a visit to Rhug Estate is the perfect excuse to break up your journey along the busy A5.

As more of us are transitioning to electric vehicles, Rhug Estate has teamed up with InstaVolt to bring in the latest evolution of its service – the installation of rapid electric vehicle car charging points. Eight ultra-rapid EV charging stations, capable of adding 100 miles of range in just 15 minutes, are currently being installed in Rhug’s car park. This will make Rhug Estate the largest private provider of EV charging points in Wales!

The installation of the eight new 120kW InstaVolt chargers are in addition to the existing Dual 7kW Type 2 PodPoint chargers located at the Rhug Estate farm shop car park, which were placed five years ago, demonstrating Rhug Estate’s commitment to promptly responding to demands of the local area and its innovative ambition.

Organic farming is at our heart At the heart of Rhug Estate is Lord Newborough’s commitment to an organic, sustainable, lifestyle. Rhug farm has been organic for over 20 years.

Rhug Farm Shop

Rhug Estate covers 5,018 hectares of breath-taking scenery across central and coastal areas in north Wales and sustainability is firmly at the heart of the business’ mission. When Lord Newborough took over the estate management from his father in 1998, it was his vision which shaped a wholly sustainable farming model, which includes high standards of animal welfare, and sustainable use of natural resources.

Lord Newborough said, “I could see the virtues of following an organic lifestyle when it wasn’t very trendy at all. Organic food was extremely difficult to get hold of back in the ‘90s and when I chose to convert the farm to organic I had quite a few raised eyebrows and doubters to deal with.”

Rhug’s organic farm leads the way with all the animals reared on the farm, fed on feed grown on the farm, and they can range freely onto clover-rich pastures. Rhug Farm is self-contained and a true ‘field to plate’ operation applying the highest standard of sustainability. Rhug is renowned for producing the highest quality, award-winning meat: beef, lamb, chickens, game, venison, geese, turkeys and even bison!

Lord Newborough puts this down to organic farming methods which embrace the highest animal welfare standards; by not using sprays or artificial fertiliser and by not routinely injecting or drenching animals, and handling them all the time, this helps to minimise stress and a happy animal produces the best quality of meat. Organic farming is using the best animal welfare standards being environmentally responsible, caring for our heritage and supporting the local community.

Rhug is sustainable farming at its very best ensuring a better healthier world for future generations. The Estate produces its own power through solar, hydro and wind systems to ensure a truly sustainable approach to agriculture. The capacity of the renewable energy schemes on the estate ranges from 4KW to 5MW and generated electricity is either used on site or exported to the grid.

Rhug’s Wild Beauty skin care products are bottled and packaged in recyclable materials. The majority of products are produced in glass jars or bottles. Where Rhug has used plastic bottles for select body products, these are made entirely (100%) from PostConsumer Recycled (PCR) plastic.

This is an environmentally friendly alternative that recycles plastic waste that would otherwise find its way into landfill. All mail order delivery boxes are made from 100% recycled cardboard and printed with 100% vegetable inks.

Twelve months ago Rhug Estate started measuring and monitoring its carbon footprint so that improvements could be made, if necessary, to make the entire farm business reach the Government’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Early calculations showed, however, that the farm was in a carbon negative position already.

Continuing with its awardwinning ways, Rhug Estate was recently announced as one of the first-ever winners of a Net Zero Award in the Medium/ Large Business category. Rhug also won a ‘Footprint Award’ for its renewable heat and power generation and the Daily Post’s Green Business Award.

Lord Newborough was thrilled to have been granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales in 2018, for Rhug Organic Farm which incorporates the farm, the wholesale meat business, the cutting plant and the butcher’s counter at Rhug Farm shop. In order to be eligible, the Royal Household expects holders of Royal Warrants of Appointment to have a responsible approach to sustainability issues. Companies should understand the environmental and social impacts of their business activities and to do what they can to manage them including the use of renewable natural resources, extraction of raw materials, supply chain management and traceability, minimising waste, the fair treatment of people and standards of animal welfare.

Lord Newborough said: “I have always maintained a policy to protect and enhance the environment for the next generation. Climate change is our biggest threat and we owe it to the next generation to do everything we can to mitigate its effects. At Rhug we really care about sustainability in everything we do, organic farming, organic skin care, green energy and caring for the environment. We are constantly looking at how each aspect of the business can reduce its carbon footprint. Work will never stop on making Rhug as efficient as it possibly can be.”

Steve James, Rhug Estate Butchers Counter Manager

Cafe Rhug

Rhug Estate Corwen, Denbighshire LL21 0EH Website and online shop: www.rhug.co.uk Shop telephone: 01490 411 100