Our Family
The Shropshire family: (from left to right) Peter, Sarah with Araminta, Trish, Guy (Founder), John, Charles with Rosie, Davina, Guy and Henry.
Shropshire’s is a family business, with a unique culture that encompasses its people, its products and its processes.
Meet our growers
Introducing Jason Thurlow, Shropshire's very own onion expert.
Jason grows organic onions and other root crops such as beetroot. Because onions prefer sandy soil, he selects growing sites all over East Anglia to ensure the best conditions.
The business was established in 1952 by Guy Shropshire, when he bought his first 300 acre farm near Ely. The company is currently headed up by his eldest son, John Shropshire. Other members of the family - Peter and Sarah (John's brother and sister), Guy, Davina and Charles (John's children) all work within the business. Keith (John's cousin) is one of the co-operative growers together with his son Richard.
A growing family
Although the number of people working within the organization has increased significantly, family is a key factor - there's a strong sense of teamwork and a commitment to realising the full potential of every member of staff. It's an ethos that extends to customers and suppliers too, working in partnership to achieve the best results with family farming values still the cornerstone of the company's culture.
Today the Shropshire family farms are part of a co-operative of growers running their own farms, all subject to the same rigorous quality procedures and good farming practice as Guy Shropshire's home farm at Barway, near Ely. The business's own G's Brand comes from Guy's initials.
Our Farms in East Anglia and Spain
In 1952 the farm covered 335 acres. Since then it has gone from strength to strength and now comprises over 12,500 acres in the UK and 10,000 acres in Murcia, Spain. The Spanish farms, which benefit from a favourable winter climate, mean that we can supply our customers with field-grown salad vegetables during the winter months when they cannot be grown in Britain. The same people that manage our Fenland farms oversee operations in Murcia, ensuring that the same high standards and values are applied to all crops grown under the G's banner and thus guaranteeing the same high quality to our customers.
Naturally Fresh
Here at Shropshire's we're passionate about freshness, quality and taste. Our farming methods ensure that freshness is top of the agenda, with products harvested in the field and - depending on the crop, cut by hand and packed in the field. Selecting and packing takes place on purpose-built mobile pack-houses called rigs.
right: The lettuce rig means the crops can be picked, selected and packed in the field ready to go direct to distribution.
Products are then taken to the depot within a target time of three hours and kept in temperature-controlled conditions for maximum freshness until they reach the supermarket shelves a day later. So, when you buy Shropshire's - you can be sure you're getting the freshest salads and vegetables, at their seasonal best.