Browne’s Chocolates closes its doors
A spokeswoman from Okehampton Chamber of Commerce confirmed the news to FoodManufacture.co.uk, but said she did not know the identity of the administrator believed to be in control of the firm, which means we have been unable to verify whether the business might continue trading.
Browne’s Chocolates has produced chocolates – handmade truffles, after-dinner mints, mint thins, humbugs – in Okehampton since 1993, and supplied retailers such as Harrods and Amazon.co.uk.
Okehampton body blow
The firm’s downfall marks the third blow in as many weeks for Okehampton, which has already seen 232 job losses when Polestar Foods’ Okehampton Desserts closed, while Robert Wiseman Dairies will shed up to 67 jobs when it closes a dairy in April.
The Chamber of Commerce still had no information as to the intentions of Leeds-based Country Style Foods as regards the Okehampton site, the spokeswoman added.
Country Style Foods obtained the plant, machinery and freehold via a newly formed company Devonshire Desserts, and is understood to be reviewing the business before it finalises future plans.
But speaking immediately after the site takeover, Chamber of Commerce chairman Ian Bailey told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “The closure [of Okehampton Desserts] was a big blow for the town, and we need that site up and running again quickly.”
He said the impact of the two site closures at that stage would potentially be severe: “When you think that nearly 300 jobs have gone in a town with a population of around 7,000, factor that up to a town about the size of Plymouth [250,000 people] and that’s around 10,000 jobs – so you can see the potential impact this will have.”
Emergency food parcels
Okehampton Foodbank – which provides free emergency food to people in crisis – has scaled-up operations in the town from only several parcels a week to 40 or 50 to cater for the redundant factory staff; individuals or businesses interested in contributing can make contact via its website.
Asked if demand for food was being met, a spokesman said: “We’ve had a terrific response from the public donating food, and now have three volunteers working four hours a day, as opposed to one previously, working only a three hours a week. We’ve had cash contributions as well, and the local college even raised over £1,000 for the cause.”
FoodManufacture.co.uk attempted to contact Browne’s Chocolates but no-one was available.
