A FAMILY business which launched a door-to-door organic fruit and veg service more than a decade ago

is set to host a very special event.

Eva’s Organics was launched well before the growing trend for organic produce gathered momentum and

has recently diversified into organic apple juice.

Now it is set to open its doors to a select group of visitors as part of a unique insight event being hosted

by legal firm Cartmell Shepherd and The Family Business Network.

Debbie Simpson founded the business with her husband Mike in 2003. She said: “The business was born

out of a desire to ensure our three young children ate healthily, and organic food seemed to be a great

way to achieve that.

“We started to produce fruit and vegetables and that became a business which, from that point we have

worked hard to make a living from.

“Mike has a long-held interest in plants and we are both very passionate about doing our little bit to help

the environment and reduce climate change.

“We are looking forward to sharing our story with other businesses, and perhaps also discussing some of

the challenges that small family businesses can face.”

Eva’s Organics was established in 2003 when the couple rented a field. The business invested in a

polytunnel when the Cumbria weather hampered their ability to grow and they now have 11 polytunnels

on their 16-acre smallholding at Low Luckens, north of Carlisle.

The company delivers boxes of fresh organic fruit and veg which is grown across the smallholding it

owns, direct to the doors of customers. More than 8,000 boxes are dispatched every year.

The company recently started to produce its own organic apple juice, which is the product of fruit harvested from its orchard in nearby Houghton, where there are 600 trees growing seven different varieties of apples. That side of the business is taken care of by Mike and Debbie’s son, Robert, who became a full-time member of the team in 2016.

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Sue Howorth, director of The Family Business Network, will host a Q&A session with the family after

visitors have taken a tour of the business. She said: “Eva’s Organics is one of those hidden gems which has been operating successfully for years but does not really shout about it.

“There is a real trend for organic food at the moment, so this business was ahead of its time when it was

established more than 15 years ago.

“They are very much looking to the future and concentrating on ways to grow, while ensuring the business

is sustainable and I’m sure the insight event will be fascinating and very enjoyable.”

If you would like to book your place on the free to attend event, please click here