British Pepper & Spice, the leading manufacturer of herbs and spices in the UK, are one of the longest standing residents of the Brackmills Estate. Here we talk to Operations Director, Tom Kerr, about the heritage of their business, why they chose to relocate from London fifty years ago, and why life on the estate would be impossible without the security afforded by the BID.
Supplying the nation
More than 90% of UK households have at least one product in their kitchen cupboards attributable British Pepper & Spice. We have two major manufacturing sites; all our wet goods – sauces, condiments, pastes etc are produced in Southampton. And at Brackmills, we manufacture all our dry goods – herbs and spices – for the UK’s major retailers, producing tens of millions of jars a year here on the estate.
Our ability to mill and grind onsite here at Rhosili Road gives us control of the process and the supply chain and allows us to innovate new spice blends for the UK market. We are recognised by the industry as the category expert, working with farmers across the world from Spain to India, China to Vietnam to ensure quality, processing standards and sustainability.
Working at this scale, supply chain security is paramount. We are regularly assessed and audited for security, both in terms of the safety of the work force and the integrity and security of our food processing.
Life before the BID
Long-standing members of our Executive Team remember life on the estate before Brackmills had BID status; it has been described as ‘being like a war zone’.
Such is the nature and scale of our operation, we simply couldn’t operate today without the safety and security afforded us by the BID. We must have crisis plans in place to protect the supply chain, and we need to be able to demonstrate this to retain our contracts.
Moving with the times
British Pepper & Spice moved to Brackmills in the 1970’s from our original home in Wapping, East London, where we were founded in 1666. In the seventeeth century, the spice trade was reliant on shipping routes, so our previous location on the Thames was perfect, also giving us access to the canal network around the UK.
As the business innovated and continued to grow, and the world modernised to become less reliant on shipping, we had to consider how we could manage logistics and distribution more effectively. Being based in the centre of the country with transport links to road, rail and air is an absolute must for a business like ours.
Recruiting and retaining great people
Being based here in the midlands also gives us access to a wider workforce. When we relocated here fifty years ago, some of our staff made the move with us, such is the commitment we try to foster. But as we continued to grow, we needed more staff, and the midlands gives us access to that.
We now employ 290 staff here on the estate and we are very proud of our stable and loyal work force. We have examples of three generations of one family all working here, and regularly hand out awards for long service.
We offer apprenticeships and have relationships with local colleges for courses and training. We also have Give & Gain days, where we encourage our staff to support local charities.
We strive to make British Pepper & Spice a great place to work and our home at Brackmills is a part of that. Our people are happy and safe and our food safety standards are maintained. The BID creates an environment for us all to thrive.
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Find out more about British Pepper & Spice here