Natures Way Foods
Encyclopedia
Natures Way Foods is an award winning British manufacturing company that supplies washed and ready-to-eat bagged salad and prepared fruit to supermarkets and restaurants in the UK. In 2010, the CRF Institute recognised Natures Way Foods as one of "Britain's Top Employers 2010", for what it called the company's "outstanding HR policies". The company was also one of the first prepared produce companies to gain ISO 14001 accreditation in the UK.
, near Chichester
, England
, and employs over 400 permanent staff. The Chairman is Robert Langmead, and the CEO is Susan Barratt. In 2009, the company’s turnover reached £82 million. The company supplies prepared produce, salad and fruit to the retail and food service markets. Clients include Tesco
, Morrisons
, McDonald's
, Pret A Manger
, Pizza Express
, Ask
, and Zizzi
.
of bagged salads by two days, keeping the salad fresh for a week, by using a naturally blanching the leaves between submerging them in cold water. The salad leaves are washed in warm and then cold water, which delays the pinking process. This would normally occur as soon as oxygen comes into contact with the cut surfaces of pre-packed lettuce.
Other awards include:
Company History
Founded in 1994, Natures Way Foods is privately owned by brothers Robert and David Langmead. The company is headquartered in SelseySelsey
Selsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about seven miles south of Chichester, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea...
, near Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and employs over 400 permanent staff. The Chairman is Robert Langmead, and the CEO is Susan Barratt. In 2009, the company’s turnover reached £82 million. The company supplies prepared produce, salad and fruit to the retail and food service markets. Clients include Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, Pret A Manger
Pret A Manger
Pret a Manger is a British sandwich retail chain based in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. The name "Pret a Manger" comes from the French prêt à manger, meaning "ready to eat", a reference to prêt-à-porter .The company was founded in London in 1986 by friends Sinclair Beecham and...
, Pizza Express
Pizza Express
PizzaExpress is a restaurant group with over 400 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 40 overseas in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the Middle East. It was founded in 1965 by Peter Boizot.In Ireland, PizzaExpress trades under the name Milano....
, Ask
Ask
Ask may refer to:* The active verb for a direct question, .In places:* Ask, Akershus in Gjerdrum municipality, Akershus, Norway* Ask, Hordaland in Askøy municipality, Hordaland, Norway...
, and Zizzi
Zizzi
Zizzi is a chain of Italian restaurants found across the United Kingdom which is owned by Gondola Group, who also own Ask and PizzaExpress restaurants. There are currently 87 Zizzi restaurants in the UK. Many include a masonry oven, visible over the counter to the customers, where pizzas are...
.
Lasting Leaf
In June 2010, Natures Way Foods launched a new bagged salad range, "Lasting Leaf", to be distributed throughout the country by Waitrose for the first year. The product extends the shelf lifeShelf life
Shelf life is the length of time that food, drink, medicine, chemicals, and many other perishable items are given before they are considered unsuitable for sale, use, or consumption...
of bagged salads by two days, keeping the salad fresh for a week, by using a naturally blanching the leaves between submerging them in cold water. The salad leaves are washed in warm and then cold water, which delays the pinking process. This would normally occur as soon as oxygen comes into contact with the cut surfaces of pre-packed lettuce.
Awards and recognition
In 2010, Natures Way Foods was awarded the Fresh Produce award in the annual Food Manufacturing Awards.Other awards include:
- Environmental Agency Water Efficiency Awards - Commendation
- Silver award from the West Sussex Education Business Partnership for their "Investors in the Future"
- West Sussex County Council Green Business of the Year 2006 – Winner
- Severn Side Recycling Excellence 2005 - Winner
- West Sussex County Council Green Project Award 2005 – Highly commended
- Lloyds TSB/KPMG Megagrowth - Fastest Growing Company in Sussex
- Investors in People
- "Best Supply Chain" in Management Today/Cranfield Management Awards