Looking to the future with award-winning Fatherson Bakery

In this exclusive interview, filmed at this year’s awards ceremony, owner and managing director Laurence Smith shared his team’s thrill of winning the award and gave a glimpse into what 2020 holds for the business.

“Seasonal is a big focus – Valentine’s, Easter, Halloween and Christmas, we’re hoping to be the biggest ever years for us, but also looking at channels,”​ said Smith. “We’re looking at foodservice, we’re looking at many other areas of the market as well. We are looking to the future with a wide scope for growth.​

‘Big growth driver’​

“For us at the moment the trends are vegan – it’s a big growth driver for us and we’ve got a couple of products already that we’re developing further back at the bakery at the moment. We see vegan, along with improvements on our existing recipes, as the way forward, as well as to-go and snacking.”​

The Food Manufacture​​ Excellence Awards celebrated and honoured dedicated businesses and individuals for their achievement, innovation and success across 22 categories.

The rock-themed ceremony was hosted by former Scissor Sisters singer Ana Matronic at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square. The night was sponsored by Dawn Foods, Fowler Welch, Menzies, Michael Page, LI Europe and Systems Integration. Associate sponsors were Markel, Circle Select and KDH.

Meanwhile, strong family ties and a commitment to ethical production were key drivers for Bumble Hole Foods, winner of the Ingredients Manufacturing Company of the Year​​ at this year’s Food Manufacture​ Excellence Awards.