Phil Haughton, the pioneering founder of multi-award winning Bristol-based Better Food, is stepping back from day to running of retailer’s four stores in what he is calling “a new chapter for the business”.

Craig Hawthorn has been announced as Better Food’s new managing director. 

Haughton has been a a high profile figure on the local – and national – organic scene for over four decades. In 2023, he was awarded an MBE for services to sustainable food initiatives and the community of Bristol.

Haughton opened his first store, Real Foods Supplies, in 1984 on Bristol’s Gloucester Road. A ‘one-stop organic shop’, it was one of the first of its kind in the South West. In 1992, he launched an organic veg box scheme under the name Phil’s Better Food Campaign, driven by a passion for local and sustainable food. The Better Food business was born in 2002 with the opening of the St Werburghs store in a former supermarket building. Today, Better Food has four stores across the city. 

In a letter to Better Food’s customers circulated earlier this week, Haughton wrote: “In those early days we stocked everything we could find that was certified organic. That meant travelling around the country in my little van collecting produce directly from farmers. Beautiful unpasteurised Welsh and Staffordshire cheeses, superb fresh vegetables from Somerset, lamb and beef from the Quantocks, biodynamic yoghurt from Winford, to name just a few.

“My mission then is the same as it is today. To make organic food available to as many people as possible and to tell the stories of the farmers behind it, helping reconnect people with their food and with the soil that produces it.

“Over the years the business has grown but the purpose has never really changed. The need to move away from chemical farming and towards more organic methods feels more important today than ever. Better Food will continue working hard to bring you the best organic foods we can find and to maintain those connections back to the farms and soil that support our health and wellbeing.

“After more than forty years working in and around the business I have decided that the start of April is the right moment for me to step back from the role of Managing Director.

“Craig Hawthorn will take over as managing director, working alongside a brilliant team of managers who care deeply about Better Food and the community we serve. Craig has been closely involved in the business and will now lead the next chapter of Better Food, continuing our commitment to organic farming, strong relationships with farmers and suppliers, and shops that genuinely connect people with good food.”

“Better Food has always been a little different. Even within the organic world we have tried to stay close to our roots, working directly with farmers and producers … because we believe in building a community around better food and a better future”

Haughton says he will remain connected to Better Food as its founder, but that day to day running of the business will now sit firmly with Craig and the leadership team.

“I am turning 68 this year and it feels like the right time to slow down a little. I have no shortage of things to keep me busy. More pottery, continuing my work with the charity Heart of BS13 as chair, helping with a farming project I hope will transpire and, importantly, finding more time to walk, read and write.”

“Better Food has always been a little different. Even within the organic world we have tried to stay close to our roots, working directly with farmers and producers not just to keep food flowing but because we believe in building a community around better food and a better future.”