Breakfast followed by talk and questions.
You are invited to the next meeting of the Herefordshire Conservative Business Forum at the Harewood End Inn, when our speaker will be Frank Cornthwaite, Managing Director of Frank’s Luxury Biscuits.
Frank is currently the MD of local food production company – Frank’s Luxury Biscuits. Married to Lesley they jointly founded the company in December 2002, both having given up their paid employment, Frank as an MOD Police Officer and Lesley as a School Nurse.
They began the business by baking biscuits in their home kitchen, and out-growing it within six months. They subsequently out-grew a shared industrial kitchen just twelve months later. In April 2004 they took on the sole tenancy of a small unit on Holmer Trading Estate, which they were forced to extend in 2007. There was a further extension in 2011 with the addition of another unit. In November 2015 on the closure of Holmer Trading Estate they relocated all operations to their current home at Rotherwas. The business sells its products to farm shops, delicatessens, garden centres and hamper companies throughout the United Kingdom. In addition they export their products to Sweden, Denmark and to a much lesser degree the USA.
While the original recipe was something Frank had grown up with on his parent’s farm, with the aid of Lesley, it has over the years, been developed to include over thirty variations. Other products based on family recipes have also been added to an extensive range of saleable goods. Both Frank and Lesley have continued to front the business, although nowadays their respective roles tend to keep them office-bound. However for both of them, that was a gradual process as both loved working in the kitchen and developing the range that carries their brand name.
There are two things that Frank has fought to maintain with regards to the business. One is that the labels on all the packaging carry the Christian ‘fish’ symbol to signify the importance of their strong Christian beliefs. The second is that the words ‘Made in Herefordshire’ feature on all their products wherever practicable.
Herefordshire CBF welcomes everyone in business or interested in business and of any political persuasion or of none.
If you would like to attend the Business Forum Breakfast please complete the booking form.