Meat firm boss on his switch from IT to food

In this exclusive interview, Eric Richmond boss Tom Martin told FoodManufacture.co.uk he was very fortunate to have found the company available for sale in 2014, when he and wife Anne-Marie were wondering whether to “make or buy” ​his way into the industry.

“We were really lucky that in Eric Richmond, there was a 70-year-old business with a great reputation … and a team that were well-established,”​ he said.

“For us to come in and have that first step up the ladder by having a ready-made reputation, trained staff, a customer base that was loyal and understood what we provided – was fabulous.”​

Lifelong love of food​

Martin, who took on the Ossett-based business three years ago, said that a lifelong love of food pulled him away from a lucrative career in IT.

He also used the video interview to highlight how the firm, which supplies around 60 butcher’s shops and delicatessens in the region, was branching out into vegetarian options.

In addition, he revealed a surprising level of demand from health-conscious dieters.

Find out more about Martin’s future growth plans for Eric Richmond – part of our ‘Me and My Factory’ series of profiles – in the September issue​of Food Manufacture​.

Windyridge Cheese​

Meanwhile, the boss of a cheese blending firm has claimed a new factory and an exclusive Guinness deal is likely to double the turnover of his business by the end of the year.

In this exclusive video interview​Windyridge Cheese md Melvin Glynn claimed the new 1,500m² ​facility in Wincanton, Somerset, had enabled his business to manufacture a much wider variety of products.