Fussy tea, unstructured food, British tapas – whatever term you prefer, the British have developed a kind of weakness for the casual dining experience.
Savoury pastry specialist Higgidy is also enjoying success, thanks in part to rising demand for its products such as dinky rolls, sausage rolls, muffins and pastry lattices, which fill a gap on the tea plate or snack table for fussy customers. In fact, appealing to less traditional eating habits is a key part of its growth plans, as CEO Rachel Kelley explains at the company’s headquarters and manufacturing site in Shoreham-by-Sea.
“To really generate growth in the future, we need to look at the stubborn consumer eating habits that have persisted post-Covid,” she says, noting that “unstructured eating” is one of them. “We’ve seen it emerge as ‘picky tea,’ where no one sits down and eats a meal, but some foods are put out and people nibble on them. That’s definitely stuck,” she adds.
To such an extent that this part of the range, known as snacking and sharing, is growing by 14-15% annually.
Higgidy, which is owned by Samworth Brothers along with stablemates Ginsters and Soreen, has been smart about its investment choices. “We’ve decided where we’re going to play,” explains Kelley. So the brand has “consciously slimmed down” its portfolio by moving away from slices and cold pies and even reducing its quiche range. It has also “proactively” decided to reduce the price of its quiches to better compete with other options on the market.
These factors, Kelley said, are responsible for the loss reported in the company’s most recent financial statements. Other factors include a portfolio shift toward lower-retail-priced items, cost-conscious consumers switching to private label products, and investments in modernizing production facilities.
Liveliness, taste and interest
But with growth in the category fueled by flattening inflation, Kelley said the focus is “on how we can get back to what is essentially our role, which is to add value to the category.”
Much of this is down to continuous quality improvements. “We want to create food that you are proud to put on the table,” enthuses Kelly, emphasising the “vibrancy, flavour and interest” they bring. The quiches, for example, are designed to be “generous” in terms of toppings and fillings, but still have a “homemade feel”. In the case of the beechwood smoked bacon and mature cheddar quiche, this is achieved by generously sprinkling bacon on top by hand.
In particular, the quiche with garlic-roasted broccoli and vintage cheddar with Emmental crumbs was awarded by the jury of the Baking Industry Awards 2024 for the “generosity of the fillings” and the “balanced taste”.
Higgidy’s quality development has been supported by a £10 million investment in the factory to enable future growth. Around a third of the money has been used for new equipment, including a Rondo pastry line, and DC Norris boilers and more oven capacity have been added.
The company has also shifted its distribution to Samworth Brothers’ supply chain to focus on areas “where Higgidy can add value” and has changed workflows in the bakery to maximise efficiency.
“Everything we wanted to do was improve our quality and help our colleagues to be as safe as possible,” says the CEO. “This of course allowed us to increase our capacity and deliver the service much more efficiently.”
A redesign created more space to make in-demand items like rolls and to separate allergens. For example, the small smoked salmon and spinach quiche (which Kelley says she’s “an absolute huge fan of”) is made in a room affectionately known as “the aquarium.”
The increased capacity for rolls comes at just the right time for Higgidy, as the CEO notes: “The most explosive growth in our range is coming from rolls in double packs.” The rolls with cheese and onions, ham hock and cheese, and feta and peppers will be included as a snack component in supermarket menus. “We will definitely be getting much more involved in the takeaway and on-the-go area in the future,” Kelley adds.
Another area of the portfolio driving growth in lunch dishes is mini quiches, while the brand’s savoury mini muffins – which have sold “phenomenally well” since their launch five years ago – are aimed at breakfast and snack foods. Notably, the muffins have no direct competition in the market, with Higgidy “finding a way to produce our fluffy, delicious little muffins that hasn’t been replicated by any other manufacturer to date”.
However, even Higgidy has encountered a hurdle when it comes to transferring the innovation to other formats. The brand’s chef, Jordan Kerridge, had previously told British baker that “mega muffins” had entered development, but Higgidy couldn’t figure out where to place them in the market. They’re not completely written off, however, as Kelley says a larger eating format could work, possibly as an alternative to a sandwich, but “we’re not quite there yet.”
Focused on sustainability
While the feasibility of mega-muffins is up for debate, Higgidy’s commitment to sustainability is unquestionable. Kelley wants Higgidy to have a “laser-focused” focus on regenerative agriculture – an issue that will form a key part of his sustainability journey. “If we don’t do more to maintain the quality of our topsoil, we’re going to be less able as a nation to produce crops here,” she says.
Currently, the mini muffins use Wildfarmed’s regenerative flour, but more varieties are likely to be added in the future, with the hope of expanding to include crops other than wheat. “I want us to be really clear and make it clear to consumers that by eating Higgidy, they can fundamentally support and future-proof farming in the UK,” explains Kelley.
But to truly drive industry-wide change, collaboration is needed. “It’s wonderful what Wildfarmed is doing. They’re pioneering work, but it takes the whole industry and all farmers. We’re very proud to be working with Wildfarmed and will push this as far as we can,” Kelley adds.
She is a “firm believer” in the power to bring people together for the common good and points to industry bodies such as the Food & Drink Federation that could help. However, she acknowledges that many businesses are “only just emerging from hiding after a difficult few years” so it may take a while to hit the ground running.
Looking ahead, Kelley is confident that in five years, Higgidy will “still be absolutely true to its goals and values,” but expects the growth profile to be “very different” to what it was in its first 20 years of business. “I think we’ll continue to grow rapidly through snacking and sharing, and be absolutely a leader in the less structured eating occasions. Of course, hot pies and quiche will always be part of our DNA, but growth will probably be slower in those areas,” she notes.
“We sit here and look to the future with a really good feeling and neither Samworth nor Higgidy have ever thought short-term.”
