Twenty years ago a maxim for the health food trade might have been 'principles before profit'. Although still one of the more ethical industries, are these days of expansion, tough competition and take-overs making the trade's ethics redundant, we wondered?

A Health Food Business report by Tracey Cooke.

GOODNESS FOODS evolved out of a group of born-again Christians all attending the same Jesus Fellowship Church. They wanted to start a business that, in the words of manager Ed Hunt, "would allow them to work out their ethics in a sympathetic business environment."

The company, which started out as a Northampton health food shop and swiftly developed into a 4,000 line wholesale business, is run on fairly strict business terms. It has some co-operative-type values but these stem from the teaching of Jesus on the equality of life: All 90 staff are part-owners of the business and receive the same salary and work opportunities.

This ties in to another reason Goodness is in business; to provide employment for members of the Jesus Fellowship Church, which includes therapeutic jobs for disadvantaged Church members.

The 'friendliness factor' that customers encounter with Goodness also springs from its religious base. "People perceive us to be a very ethical, honest company and straightforward to deal with," said Ed. "We are people-friendly. Customers would lose out if we didn't have that faith. They would get a poorer, less personal service.

"Whoever they are, people are important to us. We don't do the dirty on them. If we make a mistake we like to put it right," he added.

The company has felt very much at home as a health food business, finding sympathetic echoes in the trade for many of its ethical aspirations.

"I know I'm bound to be biased," Ed said, "but people do say, "you're so pleasant to do business with'." However this doesn't include converting people. "We don't try to influence our customers in their faith in any way. They just benefit from our ethics."

This article is extracted from Health Food Business, June 1995 by permission.

Goodness Foods, South March, Daventry NN11 4PH, UK

Tel: +44 1327 706611 (UK: 01327 706611)
Fax: +44 1327 300436 (UK: 01327 300346)
Email: info@goodness.co.uk

Jesus Fellowship web pages