Hillview

On their last leg – Sadly did not live up to their good reviews. Purchased for my partner and I as with covid we can not leave the house. He is recovering from cancer and I have a compromised immune system. Ordered the veg box medium the first time and the small fruit box first go fantastic I couldn't be happier. Little bumps and bruising but I could live with… Read more

that. Ordered again this time a large box of veg and medium fruit. Selection was poorer than the first time and I actually feel like I got more in the medium veg box than the large. Second time round the avocado and pineapple were mouldy and I had a considerable amount of crushed produce. Life got busy and I forgot to photograph items but sent a friendly email to say hey guys this box wasn't the best I had damaged and off items but don't worry about a credit or refund just keep an eye on it . Hill View reponded with a sorry that happened it shouldnt be line that but as you have no pictures we can't do a thing.. Just wow. I ordered again. Large veg and med fruit and sadly it was worse again. Grapes mouldy, corn mouldy, rockmelon bruised and dented they only gave me one even though my box was meant to contain one and I apparently registered for a free one with my high spend, slimey spinach, bruised banana and avacado no berries or figs like advitised by email just a few squished plums instead. Called complained and was offered $15.00 off next order. Sadly this is one small business we won't be supporting again. When it comes at a significant risk to us to utilise your service as we are forced to go out and replace items you were ment to provide and hits us in the financial department at the same time you have lost our loyalty and support.

Overpriced, terrible quality products – After reading the review on the Hillview Farms website, I was impressed by their bold claims and great dedication. They claim: -We specialise in chemical-free fruit and veg, but we also have permeate-free fresh milk, free range eggs, gourmet jams and sauces, Pickles and more - What we don’t grow ourselves, we source from a select few family… Read more

growers who share our values around superior quality food and chemical-free farming. - As farmers ourselves, we understand the unique struggle that other growers face daily. As produce people, we love ugly food! The big chain supermarkets don’t quite feel the same. All crops face sale price uncertainty due to the aesthetic standards in place at most major retailers. This leaves farmers with uncertain returns from selling through these avenues, making it more and more difficult to cover the cost of operations. - The rise of convenience food and grocery stores has allowed societies to completely disconnect from where food comes from. Consumers now have access to a variety of uniform looking fruits and vegetables all year round and have forgotten how to eat with the seasons. Our difference is that we choose foods that are ripe when we pick them, not six weeks in advance.

So I thought to myself "What a company?! they provide chemical-free products, support local farmers, pick only ripe and fresh fruits, what else can I dream of?". And I made a delivery order of something I would normally go and by from local Coles or Harris Farm Markets supermarket. The price was a bit higher than what would be going in the supermarket, but I was totally fine with that, given all the claims. I have arranged the delivery and was looking forward to getting and enjoying my first order.

I would like to note that their delivery service is quite reasonable and they provide last mile updates with tracking when the driver is nearby, which is convenient. However, this positive experience ended up pretty quickly.

What I was expecting are fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables that are picked right when they are ready. I was expecting them to come in various uneven and imperfect shapes and sizes, something that I have experienced when I was running my own garden and growing products. What I got instead was shocking - please see photos attached. No wonder their products won't be accepted by the supermarkets, in fact, the only acceptable place would be a trash bin. And this is ignoring the fact that they also forgot to include some items in my order.

Rotten apples, spoiled potatoes, unripe tomatoes and apricots, leafy greens that probably were stored good week before being delivered (looking pale and weak)... this is not even close to their claims. To their credit, figs that they were proud of were definitely very ripe and tasty, but the rest of the products were a struggle. But for the price I have paid (which was $172.25) I would expect really decent products, not half ripe or half spoiled ones.

I have reached out to Hillview Farms and got a partial refund (of $30.50) for outright bad and spoiled products, but that does not make up for the terrible experience I had. Maybe, if you can come there and pick products yourself your experience will be different, but I would say stay as far away from their delivery service as you can, otherwise you are risking to get a pig in the poke. And if someone from Hillview farms is reading this review, please take some time and rethink your "quality assurance" process.

Set boxes – Set boxes are great value, better than Harris Farm. Good product quality and range online They message you delivery notifications on day of delivery I got free delivery on my order I spent over $100, and received a free spring salad pack Show details