Taste of Bath closes down after highly successful decade celebrating the best of the city’s food and drink

January 17, 2025
By

The founder of Taste of Bath, the online store that connects those wanting to shop local with local food producers, has thanked its customers, suppliers and supporters after taking the decision to close it down.

Helen Rich launched the firm 10 years ago, building it up to become a highly successful and multi-award winning business with strong core values around honesty, integrity and kindness. 

However, following a period of illness, she has decided to prioritise her health and recovery and take time away from work.

In a message to customers and supporters, she said It was with mixed emotions that she and business partner Jo Cox had “made the very difficult decision to close Taste of Bath”.

Helen, pictured, below left, with Jo, added: “This decision was not made lightly and comes after considerable deliberation. At the heart of Taste of Bath, our core values have always been honesty, integrity and kindness.

“In staying true to these values, we wish to openly share the reasons behind this difficult decision with you – our loyal customers, community and producers.”

Helen was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer in December 2023 and, following a challenging year of chemotherapy and recovery, returned to the business in October. 

During Helen’s time away from the business, operations director Jo Cox stepped in as interim managing director, ensuring that the firm’s exceptional service continued seamlessly.

While the pair were united by a shared vision to grow and develop the Taste of Bath brand, as Helen’s health journey remains uncertain – and additional chemotherapy may be needed in the future – Helen is to concentrate on her health and recovery.

For Jo, this marks the start of a new chapter, vision and challenge as she seeks to apply her extensive skills in operations to another endeavour.

Helen said: “While this has been a hard period for Taste of Bath, we are immensely proud of the positive legacy we leave behind.”

This includes:

• Supporting local food producers with hundreds of thousands of pounds in wholesale orders

• Donating more than £10,000 to the Bath Food Bank

• Partnering with 200-plus corporate clients and serving thousands of loyal retail customers.

Helen added: “To our producers, you are incredible artists and passionate businesspeople. Taste of Bath thrived because of your dedication and collaboration.

“To our business clients, your unwavering commitment allowed us to grow from a small independent company into Bath’s Business Service of the Year.  It’s been a joy for our team to work alongside you.

“To our online customers, thank you for your loyalty and support over 10 years. Every improvement we made – to our website, packaging, products and services – was with you in mind.

“To our community, from suppliers and partners to local politicians and press, Bath’s spirit of encouragement and kindness has been our foundation.

“To our team, your passion, dedication and belief in the brand made this journey possible. It’s been a wild and wonderful ride, and we couldn’t have done it without you.”

She said as her and Jo looked ahead to their next chapters, they would forever cherish the memories, partnerships and accomplishments of the past 10 years.

“What a privilege it has been to serve this community and to grow alongside you all,” she added.

“Though this chapter is ending, we hope the impact of Taste of Bath will live on.”

 

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