The Pudding Compartment
The Food Technology Centre has been supporting The Pudding Compartment since the inception of its first product over a decade ago. In 2012, the company sought to gain SALSA accreditation but the first site in Abergele was not deemed suitable.
BACKGROUND
Having started in 2007, The Pudding Compartment was a business based in Abergele with only two members of staff. Today, the company has a team of 25 and is based in Flint. With recognised expertise in supplying the travel, food service & business to business sector with white label products, the company takes great care in sourcing ethically and where possible uses local suppliers. Proud to be a Welsh producer, the company has built partnerships with other Welsh businesses by using their ingredients or producing on their behalf.
SUPPORT RECEIVED FROM FOOD TECHNOLOGY CENTRE
The Food Technology Centre has been supporting The Pudding Compartment since the inception of its first product over a decade ago. In 2012, the company sought to gain SALSA accreditation but the first site in Abergele was not deemed suitable. With the assistance and guidance of the Centre, The Pudding Compartment found new and larger premises in Flint. Since being SALSA accredited, the Centre has continued to support the company in maintaining the accreditation.
As The Pudding Compartment's clients were increasingly requesting a longer shelf life on cake products, Project HELIX support was utilised to carry out shelf life testing at the centre in Llangefni. This entailed re-formulating the recipe and the company provided samples to the Centre for micro testing. Continuous support and guidance was provided as and when required.
BENEFITS OF THE SUPPORT
As a result of the support provided by the Food Technology Centre, The Pudding Compartment has seen a marked improvement in its products and over the past seven years, turnover has increased from £50k to £1m. Extensive work was carried out in terms of developing, improving and testing existing products, and the company has seen other benefits such as the opportunity to attend conferences and site visits - opportunities that without Project HELIX support would not otherwise have been presented to the company.
The Pudding Compartment also attends cluster group events. Whereby these events are organised for networking, guest speakers often give insightful and inspirational presentations.
As a small business, The Pudding Compartment currently feels it cannot assign a full time technical role, therefore, it is now looking to assign a Food Technology Centre technical person as part of an affiliate programme. The company is also seeking to gain BRC accreditation with the assistance of the Food Technology Centre.
Steve West, Managing Director,The Pudding Compartment said,
The Food Technology Centre in Llangefni has been an invaluable resource that's helped us grow our business. We wouldn't be where we are today without Project HELIX support and the ongoing support of the Centre. If we face any challenges, the Centre is our first 'port of call'. Likewise, the centre will alert us and keep us up to date with any changes to legislation – which is essential for a business like ours. The Centre has been a big part of our success from the very beginning, and we look forward to working with them on future projects. We value the partnership approach.
