Robin Williams started Brighter Foods in 2014 along with a small team of dedicated and experienced people. He had three simple aims: to innovate and manufacture products of the best quality, deliver excellent customer service, and to be a great employer. Bold ambitions considering that he chose to put the factory in Tywyn, a rural, coastal town in West Wales with no major transport links and with no banks willing to support him.

 

What he did have, however, was the support of a small number of private investors, a close-knit community, the Welsh and local Government, and a fantastic potential customer, all of them prepared to share in his ambitions and take a risk for the fledgling company. The icing on the cake came with the launch of their very own brand Wild Trail, which soon gained a listing at a major supermarket.

 

By 2015, the company was employing over 100 people. Staggeringly, the company had sales of over ten million pounds in its first full year of trading and swept the board at the inaugural Wales Start-up awards. It was also the year that Brighter Foods was awarded Investors in People status and a second production line got up and running 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.

 

By 2017 the team had grown to over 180, and the company was attracting attention from all over Europe and beyond, including interest from Real Good Food Plc. who committed to partnering with the team to help fulfil their ambitions to grow the successful business. Robin was also awarded UK Entrepreneur of the Year, an achievement he credited to his loyal and dedicated team.

 

Cut forward to 2018, just four years since Robin Williams - based in an office at home - had scrabbled together money and equipment to get the business going, and Brighter Foods announced a multi-million pound investment into new property and a third production line, and ambitions to grow the team to over 200 people. Brighter Foods’ aims haven’t changed, and their customers and brand partners range from small start-ups to major household brands. Robin and ‘Team Brighter’ continue to challenge the seemingly impossible, continue to learn and grow, and always strive to hold true to their core values.