Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Now partners Alastair Ross and Gary Blakeley of Wiltshire’s Burton Latimer-based franchise are predicting significant future expansion for the business, based on industry forecasts of 20 per cent growth per annum in the frozen meals-on-wheels sector.

Ross, a former Hong Kong policeman, has made an arresting job of the franchise thanks to continual investment that has completely transformed the business from a man with a van to a burgeoning enterprise.

Ross invested heavily in a cold room extension four years ago but the facilities have now required further enhancement to keep pace with market demand.

Adcock Group, which handles refrigeration projects for the UK’s leading food firms, Universities and research institute laboratories – even the British Antarctic Survey – was called in to mastermind the latest upgrade, under the control of Wiltshire’s consulting engineer, Michael Boast, as the partners sought to maximise growth opportunities.

Ross said: “We really wanted to ramp up our quality with the latest expansion and Adcock came up with a tremendous package, superb installation expertise and outstanding service – all in a value for money package that really impressed me.

“They have installed a state-of-the-art cold room extension in good time and driven temperatures down to the required -20 degrees with consummate skill. The development has really taken us upmarket.

“We are now at full throttle production wise to satisfy an increasingly ravenous market for frozen meals-on-wheels and all the industry figures indicate increasingly strong growth.

“I still have to stop and catch my breath sometimes when I think how far we’ve come. I held a variety of jobs in the food industry after leaving the Hong Kong Police but was always keen to run my own business so the Wiltshire Farm Foods franchise – vibrant and with strong growth potential – attracted me from the outset.

“I can still recall the first frozen dinner I managed to sell, when I was chief cook and bottle washer. The business was me, a telephone and a van.

“My first cold store was an 11ft X 7ft unit. Now, in our 12th year, we are up to 1,860 sq ft including the 18-pallet space capacity extension; we have four vans and 13 full and part time staff.

“The range of meals we provide has also changed beyond recognition since we started but the basic concept hasn’t altered.

“The vast majority of our customers want basic, tasty home cooking and our product hits the mark.”