A Farm, A Family, A Food Revolution

Tucked away in the rolling hills of Devon lies a place where good food, honest farming, and deep-rooted values come together. What began over 35 years ago as a humble dream on a windswept farm has grown into something extraordinary, a movement shaped by trust and a belief that food should be better.

This is the story of how the home of Pipers Farm became Pipers & Co and why we’re still driven by the same mission: to feed people properly.

 

Where it All Began

Weaving along pot-hole filled roads with hedgerows brimming with buds or berries, depending on the season, you’ll arrive at a very special home in deepest Mid Devon, Pipers Farm. 

Over 35 years ago Peter and Henri Greig made the very same journey, pulling up the driveway of what was then just a handful of old tin sheds but with a view that stretched for miles over the hills and across a valley of the most luscious rich red Devon soil. Before they laid a welly down on Pipers Farm earth, they had travelled the country viewing over 100 farms in order to find one to call home. As they stepped out of the car, they knew this was it. Pipers Farm would be their forever home.

Peter set to work converting the old bungalow into a farmhouse where he and Henri would live with their two young sons Ed and Will and their sheepdog, Chip. Once they had settled in, it was time to repurpose the old milking shed, which was nothing but a few sheets of tin tied together, into something more functional for their new adventure. Peter carried out much of the work himself as Henri, new baby in arms and young Ed at her feet, kept home life steady. 

Soon a small butchery was constructed and it was here that Peter would carry on teaching himself the lost craft, frying pan in one corner to taste every single cut, Will and Ed playing at his feet and Henri by his side giving a seal of approval and taking detailed notes. 

Meat the Natural Way

It wasn’t long before the two pioneers were making waves in the industry, winning prestigious awards one after the other. They fashioned the slogan ‘Pipers Farm, Meat the Natural Way’ and made their way around the country extolling the virtues of small scale family farming, native breeds, grass fed meat and why we should all watch out for antibiotic laden meat. Some people thought they were mad, but quietly and increasingly they found a growing group of people who could see their vision.

Soon they joined up with neighbouring farms to produce more, following the same principles they held at Pipers Farm and always under their meticulous guidance. This gave opportunities for local family farms to free themselves from the mainstream rollercoaster and become more self-sufficient.

Peter and Henri had created a model where each neighbouring farm was paid a fair and guaranteed price that respected their hard work. Deals were done based on a handshake and trust, and relationships flourished as farming partners became dear friends. 

With enough customers vying for their unique produce, Peter and Henri opened their first butchers shop on Magdalen Road in Exeter in 1993. Alongside the shop Peter and Henri offered a pioneering mail order service, practically unheard of at the time.

Bringing Good Food to More People

Just as the dawn of the internet was sweeping across the land, in the year 2000, their first born son Ed, built the very first Pipers Farm website at the age of 16, launching this traditional family business into the digital age. Taking Pipers Farm ‘online’ along with utilising the traditional channels, Peter and Henri took the business truly nationwide, with customers from the Channel Islands to Scotland and everywhere in between. 

The pair continued to win more awards including; The Times Best Butcher, BBC Best Food Producer and were even labelled as one of Rick Stein’s Food Heroes.

They were also able to grow their list of farming partners from just a handful of neighbours to 25 small scale family farms producing everything from Properly Free Range Chicken, Native Red Ruby Beef to Traditional Christmas Turkeys. The business thrived thanks to a small committed, hard working team who believed in the vision that Peter and Henri had cemented a decade ago. 

A New Generation Takes the Reins

In 2009 Will, Peter and Henri’s youngest son, returned home after completing his University degree and as always, supported his parents through a busy Christmas period, however this time it was different, he could see that his parents needed more support to keep this complex tapestry thriving and so he offered to help them for a short time while he decided what he might do with his fledgling career. 

Will became fascinated by the operational side of the business, spotting ingenious ways his parents could maintain their deeply rooted ethics and values, while making systems flow and function better. He had a natural flair for leadership and soon had grown a small team of his own handling the website, distribution and operations, providing Peter and Henri more space and time to work directly with farmers and travel around the country sharing the story of their vision for a better food system. In many ways they were the perfect team, yet there was one missing piece. 

In 2012 Will placed an advert looking for someone to support him in growing the sales and marketing of the company. Abby Allen answered the advert and as they say the rest is history. Love blossomed on the farm and soon Will and Abby had formed a new kind of partnership. Abby’s creativity balanced Will’s operational mind and with the guiding hand of Peter and Henri they slowly took over the reins of the family company. Will grew Pipers Farm into a network of over 50 small scale farmers, with tens of thousands of customers in the UK, becoming one of UK’s most trusted ethical food brands. 

Will was a chip off the old block and had a clear vision for the future of the once family run business. While he shared his parents' passion for supporting small scale livestock farmers, he wanted to extend this support to all small scale British producers, from artisan cheesemakers, craft bakeries and even small scale fisheries.

From growing up surrounded by the world of Pipers Farm, Will deeply understood that his customers had a yearning for food they could trust, produced by people who care for this planet and that didn’t just extend to the meat on their plate, he wanted to be able to provide customers with real choice, a balanced plate of nourishing food made by people who really care. 

Having watched his parents precariously walk the tightrope of growing, making, packing and selling, Will also knew how important it was for busy producers to find accessible, trusted routes to market, that enabled them to focus on their passion and remove the burden of having to do everything under one roof. 

Pipers & Co is Born

In the summer of 2025, just as Will and Abby prepared to welcome their first daughter into the world, Pipers & Co was born.

Pipers & Co is the natural evolution of everything the Greig family built - a collective of like-minded artisans, from regenerative farmers and traditional cheesemakers to bakers and growers of British beans and pulses. It’s a place for people who care where their food comes from and the impact it has. A place where customers can shop with confidence, knowing they’re supporting real people doing things properly, in harmony with nature.

Built on Trust

Just like his parents before him, Will is building something quietly revolutionary:

A better way to feed people, built on trust, care, transparency, and genuine connection. 

The cracks in our food system are no longer hidden. From climate shocks to collapsing biodiversity, from rural decline to rising food-related illness, the industrial model of food production has reached its limits. At the heart of the problem is distance, between consumer and farmer, between the true cost of production and the price on the label. At Pipers & Co we believe the only viable future is one embedded in relationships.

Our mission is to connect you, our customers, with the farmers and producers who are healing the land, rebuilding soil, and growing food in a way that restores life.

It’s about community and trust. In a world of globalised, just-in-time supply chains, we are building something lasting, a food system with integrity. 

It’s about human health, too. Food grown in living soil is richer in nutrients, less reliant on chemicals, and produced in harmony with natural rhythms. It’s food that supports wellbeing at every level.

It’s about rural resilience. When food is produced and processed locally, value stays in the local economy, supporting abattoirs, dairies, pickers, packers, and a network of craftspeople who underpin a thriving food culture.

And it's also about joy. The joy of knowing where your food comes from, who grew it, what it supports and of course, that it tastes incredible and brings real joy to every meal.

With decades of real experience behind us, we are excited to invite you on this journey with us as we build a better, fairer future. 

“Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years — you’ve helped make this possible. And to those just joining us: Welcome, we’re so glad you’re here.” Will Greig, Founder.