Farm Shops & Direct-to-Consumer
Direct to Consumer: How It Works
The end-to-end sequence, stage by stage, with nothing skipped.
The module is modelled as an explicit state machine with 8 stages. Every record knows which stage it is at, what has to happen to move on, and what is blocking it if it cannot. Direct selling converts commodity output into retail value, and the multiple between the two is often larger than any efficiency gain available inside the farm gate. This module provides storefront, subscription boxes, click and collect, farm shop point of sale and the provenance narrative that the platform record can substantiate rather than merely assert.
End to end
How Direct to Consumer runs, start to finish
The module is modelled as a state machine, so at any point the business knows exactly which stage every record is at and what has to happen next.
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1
Build the catalogue and set pricing
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
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2
Generate provenance from the production record
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
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3
Configure delivery, collection and subscriptions
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
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4
Onboard local suppliers as vendors
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
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5
Take orders across web and counter
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
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6
Pick, pack and fulfil
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
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7
Settle vendor accounts
Results feed the whole-farm view, so the effect of this stage is visible against the rest of the business.
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8
Analyse margin against wholesale alternative
The cycle closes here, and what is learned is carried into next season's plan rather than lost.
Sequence
The order things happen in
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Stage 1
Build the catalogue and set pricing
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
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Stage 2
Generate provenance from the production record
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
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Stage 3
Configure delivery, collection and subscriptions
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
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Stage 4
Onboard local suppliers as vendors
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
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Stage 5
Take orders across web and counter
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
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Stage 6
Pick, pack and fulfil
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
Before you start
What you will need, and what the module handles for you
Most of this comes across automatically once your holding is registered. The list is here so nothing arrives as a surprise.
In practice
Six things Direct to Consumer changes on day one
None of these requires a new process. They all come from recording the work you already do, once, in a form the rest of the platform can use.
Storefront with product catalogue, variants
Storefront with product catalogue, variants, stock and pricing.
Subscription box management with pause
Subscription box management with pause, skip and flexible cadence.
Click and collect with farm
Click and collect with farm shop, locker and partner pickup points.
Farm shop point of sale
Farm shop point of sale integrated with the same stock and customer record.
Provenance pages generated from the
Provenance pages generated from the actual production record.
Age verification and duty handling
Age verification and duty handling for alcohol products.
Shopfront
Sell through direct to consumer
A storefront that already knows what you produce, because it reads your holding record. Assurance status, batch and provenance travel with every listing, so a buyer sees the evidence rather than a claim.
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Meat and dairy No listings yet Cold chain and use-by handling required
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Grain and flour No listings yet Sold by weight, priced per tonne
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Fruit and vegetables No listings yet Seasonal availability, grade declared
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Eggs and poultry No listings yet Registered packing centre code shown
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Drink No listings yet Duty status and ABV declared
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Wool and fibre No listings yet British Wool grade where applicable
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Inputs and seed No listings yet Authorisation number shown for treated seed
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Machinery No listings yet Hours, service history and V5C status
What the shopfront handles for you
- Collection, local delivery or carrier Rural postcodes are priced honestly rather than hidden at checkout.
- Weight-priced and graded goods A tonne of wheat and a box of eggs need different maths. Both are handled.
- Assurance carried through Red Tractor, organic certification and farm assurance status shown from the record, not typed in.
- Batch and provenance attached Every order can produce the traceability record behind it.
Questions answered
What people ask about Direct to Consumer
Does this replace the software I already use?
Not necessarily. Agrivencia integrates with authoritative sources and mainstream packages rather than insisting on replacing them. Where an incumbent does one job well, the platform connects to it; where the job spans several systems and nobody does it, the platform does it.
Will it work where I have no signal?
Yes. Field capture in Direct to Consumer is offline first, storing locally and synchronising when a connection returns. Only around a fifth of UK farms report reliable signal across the whole holding, so this is a design assumption rather than a feature.
What happens when the scheme rules change?
Scheme rules are held as data rather than code, so a rate change, a cap change or a window closure is a content update that takes effect the same day. The platform also alerts you to what the change does to your own position.
Who owns the data I put in?
You do. The Farm Data Charter gives you a complete export in open formats at any time, and every instance of data sharing requires an explicit, revocable consent that is visible in your account.
Does it work if I farm across a border?
Yes, and that is one of the main reasons the platform exists. A business with land in more than one nation sees one reconciled view rather than two portals, with obligations and deadlines from both administrations in a single calendar.
Can my agronomist or land agent use it too?
Yes. You grant scoped, time-limited access per holding and per module, and you can revoke it in one click. Advisers never get a shared password or a blanket view.
What is the biggest limitation of this module?
Owned logistics cost. Mitigated by collection and partner-led fulfilment. We would rather state that plainly than let you discover it after signing.
What we are hearing
The problems people describe to us
These are composite statements drawn from user research conversations, not attributed customer quotes. We publish named references only with written consent.
I am not short of software. I am short of one place where the same field means the same thing in all of it.
The scheme closed on a Tuesday evening. I had the application half built. Nobody told me the budget was nearly gone.
We farm on both sides of the border. Everything takes twice as long and I still cannot see the whole position on one screen.
Audit week costs me three days. Every single record they ask for is already written down somewhere on this farm.
See Direct to Consumer running on your own holding
Thirty minutes, using your parcels, your schemes and your enterprises rather than a sample farm. No obligation and no sales script — if it does not fit your business we will say so.
- Free tier available
- No card required
- Your data stays yours