Producer Story - Frank's Luxury Biscuits
As the evenings start to draw in we turn to comfort food and what can be more comforting than a hot drink and a biscuit.
One of our favourite stories is of Frank from Herefordshire, who would bake biscuits for family and friends and raise funds for his village church. They proved so popular that he turned it in to a business.
Now that's taking the biscuit.
Mum’s original oat biscuit recipe, baked in our farmhouse kitchen, was a family favourite, and always baked on a Thursday. There were always several tins in the larder full of different biscuits and cakes regularly dipped into by the family and friends.
The oatie biscuit became a favourite recipe that Frank used to bake for friends and family alike. It was particularly a wow factor, when he started dating Lesley.
When they married, the oatie continued to be baked for friends and work colleagues, to raise money for missionaries in other countries, through their local church.
The business was first established in December 2002, when Frank took early retirement, and began baking biscuits in the home kitchen and sold them locally. Within six months the business had increased to such a degree that Frank, and his wife Lesley, were forced to begin looking for alternative premises. However, they did not have to spend any time looking, as they were offered a share of an industrial kitchen less than half a mile from their home.
Within twelve months even the shared premises were not big enough, and at that point they moved to their own unit on the same estate. At the same time the business began to establish itself as one that could deliver their products nationwide. It was also about this time April 2004 that Lesley found herself working longer hours at the bakery and developing the first range of cakes and so she too gave up her job to work full time in the business.
The business has continued to grow, and the extent of their range has grown too.
With Frank’s quality has always come first. That is why everything is hand baked using no added preservatives, and above all, only the finest natural ingredients.
They currently supply over 900 outlets in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Sweden , France and the USA.
