How a pivot to pet food after the 1970s oil crisis reshaped a family farm’s future
Fold Hill Food’s (Fold Hill) roots stretch back over 100 years. Originally, Fold Hill was a mixed farm with sheep and cattle grazing alongside fields of vegetables and cereals. Ben Mankertz, Managing Director, shares a more detailed overview of its evolution: “We’re a family-owned business established in 1979 by the Grant family. It began when the family farm’s operation began to struggle in the late 1970s because of the oil crisis. Drying the arable crops relied heavily on oil. When prices surged, it quickly became uneconomical to continue.” Serendipity stepped in when Ted Grant OBE, the original owner, was exploring his options. “He ended up being seated next to a pet food company owner at a dinner function. He was unable to expand his business because it was landlocked by other buildings in the area.
“The two of them hit it off and struck a deal. If Ted installed an oven on site, then his new contact would buy the dog biscuits off him. That’s how the business was
conceived. A few years later, the pet food company went out of business. At that point, Ted had an oven but didn’t have any customers. So, he contacted salespeople that had links with convenience stores and supermarkets who had some success with own-label supply for other areas but didn’t have a pet food supplier. The sales team started marketing Ted’s products, and following this move, in 1982, the first official customer became the Co-op, whom we still supply to this day, and the business has gradually grown from there.”
The next 30 to 35 years focused on supplying supermarkets, but in more recent years, there’s been a few smaller business acquisitions. Ben explains why this approach is significant. “It has enabled us to create our own portfolio of brands, and we now have a mixture of supplying own label to supermarkets, co-manufacturing for other brands in the pet area, and producing our own brands that we sell predominantly in pet specialty.
“We’ve got the Fold Hill brand itself, which is a value brand that we sell in a lot of discounters and pet specialty stores. We also have another value brand called Superior, and that’s really to hit certain price points. Alongside these, we have the Pointer brand, which is mainly dog biscuits but also encompasses treats. That’s a business that we acquired nine years ago that we’ve continued to grow. We’ve supplemented this by putting pick-and-mix stands out into the trade. This has helped expand the category quite significantly. We then have Laughing Dog, which is a brand that has been around since 1936, and we bought it from a set of administrators about 15 years ago. We then premiumized the brand by moving it towards complete foods, both wet and dry, as well as treats. It is predominantly an online brand but has some presence in supermarkets.
“We also have Ruffingtons, which launched around six months ago. After seeing success with seasonal treats and seeing a small cottage industry develop where people would take our dog biscuits and turn them into cakes, selling them on to local pet shops, we took the idea and ran with it. Now the range includes dog eclairs, dog doughnuts, canine cupcakes, and terrier truffles. We’ve managed to partner with some big influencers, including Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills, to help expand.
“Most recently, we also acquired Brambles, which is a wildlife brand specializing in hedgehog, swan, and duck food. It was a brand we were co-manufacturing with, and the owners were coming up to retirement and looking to step back, so it just made sense. It was a great fit; we shared the same family-values ethos.”
As the company continues expanding its already strong portfolio into new areas, it is also in the process of consolidating its manufacturing facilities to better cope with growth. Ben explains the strategy: “In 2019, we bought a site in Liverpool where we’ve been manufacturing dog biscuits. It’s quite an old building, though, and as a consequence, it’s struggling to keep up with modern manufacturing standards. It’s also surrounded by houses, so growing the facilities isn’t possible.
“As expanding there wasn’t an option, we’ve located a new site in Boston, Lincolnshire, based on the original farmland, which gives us plenty of space for the future. By November, when we are planning to move the Liverpool operation to the new site, we will have installed a baking line with new silos and tanks ready for operation.”
This move will also aid the company’s adoption and integration of smart factory technologies. Ben outlines Fold Hill’s approach: “This year, we will continue to add elements which increase automation. In June, for example, we will be installing an automatic case filler. We’ll also be putting robot stacking in place. The plan is to then automate other areas of the factory moving forward.”
This will not only increase operational efficiency but also help the business overcome some labor challenges, as Ben outlines: “It’s a problem that’s exacerbated for us. Being in such a rural location, it’s hard to attract people to the company in the first place. Increasing automation across all of our operations will help ease this pressure. It will also help us better look after our employees, and this is important to us. We have become a Real Living Wage employer and have recently instituted a bonus scheme. Because we are a family-owned business, looking after our employees is a priority.”
Concluding, Ben looks to the future, outlining the company’s ambitions going forward: “This year, we will be putting structures in place which will support the business over the coming years as it continues to grow. We will also be further consolidating Brambles into our portfolio of brands. The factory transfer is also a big priority; the investment in the new equipment alone will be worth £9 million.
“Further afield, we will continue building on our core strengths, developing our brands into new markets and geographies. In five years’ time, I could certainly see us expanding into Europe.”