“We have many loyal customers and good staff retention”. Brian & Donna Way on running a Wiltshire Farm Foods franchise

Wiltshire Farm Foods’ Brighton franchisees

Established for over 25 years, Wiltshire Farm Foods is a highly successful franchising brand that supplies delicious and nutritious frozen ready meals to the local community that are easy to prepare and delivered direct to the freezer.

Brian and Donna Way joined the Wiltshire Farm Foods network in September 2005. In the 14 years they have owned the Brighton franchise, they have seen a 410 per cent growth in their business, increasing the turnover by £1 million.

Why did you decide to go into franchising and why this brand?

We decided to purchase a franchise because we wanted to benefit from working with an established brand, as opposed to starting something ourselves from nothing. We were attracted to a proven business model and the network support a franchise would offer. The business model is also resilient to a recession and future-proofed for an ageing population, which gave us security for longevity in business, which was our plan.

How has the support been ongoing?

Our business development manager is always just a call away as much or as little as we need them. With the size of the network, generally, someone has encountered the same problem whatever it may be.

Wiltshire Farm Foods is known for its social values. What do you do in your local community that makes a difference?

It’s very rewarding working with our customers, whose average age is 83. Nothing we do is a hard sell - we are supporting our customers to stay independent in their own homes. Obviously, we are selling a product and want to continue to grow the business, but the service is a substantial part of our business. Everyone we employ within our franchise needs to possess certain character traits - being patient, understanding, caring and kind, to name a few.

Our customers’ needs vary considerably. Some want to take the delivery from the driver at the door, while others need more help with putting the meals in their freezer. Many of our customers are very lonely, so a 5-10-minute chat goes a long way, whether that be with our drivers or on the phone with a customer services adviser.

We ensure our staff are not overloaded with work or stressed in their roles, so they have time to chat with customers who want to. We have many loyal customers and good staff retention, so some lovely working relationships have been built throughout the years.

At a glance Wiltshire Farm Foods

Established:

1991

Number of franchised outlets:

81

Location of units:

nationwide

Investment range:

personal funds required across the range of current franchise opportunities are from £90,000-£200,000

Minimum required capital:

typically £150,000 in personal funds, plus a business loan to purchase the business and all necessary assets

Contact:

Andy Turner, head of franchise recruitment and mobilisation. andy. turner@wiltshirefarmfoods.co.uk franchise.wiltshirefarmfoods.com