Waitrose Duchy Organic, the brand originally founded by HRH The Prince of Wales as ‘Duchy Originals’, has generated £3.2m for charity. Sales of Waitrose Duchy Organic products provide an annual donation to The Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation with this year’s donation a record amount.
Rob Collins, Managing Director, Waitrose said: ‘Duchy has had another extremely successful year at Waitrose. Duchy has not only generated £3.2m for charitable causes but also surpassed £200m sales for the first time. We are honored to be custodians of the brand and the charitable amount revealed today is a proud achievement.’
In 2009 a groundbreaking partnership was agreed between the organic brand and Waitrose which gave the retailer the right to manufacture, distribute and sell products under the Duchy brand – built on the principles of Good Food, Good Farming and Good Causes.
Duchy Originals Limited gives a donation from the sale of Waitrose Duchy Organic products to The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation. So far, over £20 million has been donated to charitable causes including The Prince’s Countryside Fund, which works to secure a brighter future for those who live and work in the British countryside and the Duchy Future Farming Program, which helps farmers develop more sustainable farming practices.
The brand has come a long way in 25 years since the first product, the ever-popular oaten biscuit, went on sale. The range has grown to over 300 products and is now the UK’s largest own-label organic brand.
Waitrose Duchy Organic has also proved popular overseas. Products are exported to over 20 countries worldwide, including Australia, Barbados, Dubai and Thailand. The biggest selling product internationally is shortbread biscuits.
Today’s results are contained in the 2017 financial accounts for Duchy Originals Ltd, which is the company that holds the licensing agreement for the brand.
