Being the trusted partner to our customers, consumers, the environment and importantly, our people, means that growing is at the heart of everything we do.
Develop our products, quality and innovation. Grow our business and our efficiency. We grow ourselves and our careers, regardless of the starting point.
We pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible standards.
From the way we grow our products, to the relationships we sustain with clients, everyone knows exactly what is going on.
At the center of everything is a trust that has been built over years of excellent service.
From the herbs and salads that are grown on site to the investment in facilities and the growth of the business.
We’re focused on always improving our offer and ourselves, leading the way forwards.
It was with a humble watercress production field that we took our first steps and became an international company that currently employs 1,500 people and manages around 720 hectares of cultivation fields and greenhouses. Some of the most important moments in our history were:
In 1951, Malcolm Isaac, from a 0.4 hectare watercress plantation in southern England – Hampshire – laid the foundation of what is now one of Europe’s leading producers, packers and distributors of washed and ready to eat baby leaf greens – Vitacress. The brand name is a reference to watercress.
In 1964, we introduced the cold storage chamber in watercress distribution (from production to local markets in England).
In 1967, we began supplying packed watercress to retail outlets.
In 1976, we began supplying washed, packaged and ready-to-eat watercress (IV range) to the English market.
In 1981, we started producing in Portugal, investing in a 90-hectare watercress farm in Almancil, Algarve, where we found ideal production conditions (soil, temperature, sunlight, etc.) to overcome production inefficiency in England during the winter.
In 1986, we made the first major investment with the construction of a salad-washing and packing unit in England (St. Mary Bourne Salad Facility). We opened Iberian Salads Agricultura Lda. in Odemira, Portugal, which has become an important producer of watercress, wild rocket, spinach and other varieties of baby leaf greens.
In 1988, we began the production of baby leaf greens in Portugal.
In 1989, Van Heyningen Brothers pioneered the production of herbs in the United Kingdom.
In 1994, we started the packaging of early seed potatoes in Quinta dos Cativos, Odemira, Portugal. This year was also marked by a joint venture in the African continent (Kenya) that brought about the expansion of production areas for England.
In 1999, we built the first cold storage chambers for early seed potato storage.
In 2002/2003, we built new potato and salad washing and packaging units in Odemira, Portugal. During this period we also started organic production in Portugal and the production of primor potatoes in southern Spain. It was also during this period that the Vitacress brand was launched in Portugal and Spain, selling a washed and ready-to-use product (IV range).
In 2008, Vitacress was acquired by Grupo RAR. We were already present in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain, operating around 750 hectares of agricultural land.
In 2010, Van Heyningen Brothers joined Vitacress. This year we also launched the Steve’s Leaves brand in the UK.
In 2011, we established Vitacress Real in the Netherlands.
In 2015, we have installed new facilities for the production of fresh greenhouse herbs in Chichester.
In 2017 and 2018, we were recognised as one of the ‘100 best companies to work for’ in Portugal, by EXAME Magazine.
In 2023 we launched the Second Nature program, reinforcing our commitment to sustainability and the objective of achieving Net Carbon Zero by 2040.
+351 283 320 500 
info.cliente@vitacress.com 
