Family-owned sausage business, Heck Food, have created 75 jobs after opening their £3.5 million ‘sausage world’ in North Yorkshire.
The new Bedale based factory, which can produce more than 700 sausages per minute, aims to double their share in the premium sausage market, with the firm also expecting to increase its turnover to £18 million this year.
In just four years, co-founders Andrew and Debbie Keeble and team have grown the company into a multi-million-pound business with the firm’s fast growth recognised in the 2017 Lloyds Bank National Business Awards, which saw Heck shortlisted in the scale-up business of the year category.
After considering a number of potential sites, a decision was made to develop an agricultural setting, which had historic connections to the Keeble family.
Andrew Keeble, co-founder of Heck Food, said: “Our investment in the new factory will be key to securing Heck’s place as Britain’s favourite sausage on the plate.”
“Innovation is at the heart of what we do and we’ve been busy taking the traditional British banger and giving it a healthier makeover. The vegetarian brand we launched with Waitrose last year has been a huge success, while our lower fat chicken and new vegan ranges are going down a storm too.”
“We’re one of the last independent businesses in the British sausage industry, selling nearly double the volume of our closest competitor.”