A new multi-million-pound base for Keswick chocolate company Friars is fast taking shape on Penrith’s Gilwilly Industrial Estate, in Penrith, as the independent family firm looks forward to the next stage in its expansion.
The purpose-built factory and distribution centre is on schedule to open this summer, enabling Friars to move its current operations on to one site and create the capacity to ramp up chocolate production.
Costing £7 million, construction work began last September, with the facility expected to open in June.
Initially around 30 people are expected to be employed at the site, with some staff moving from their previous location, and recruitment is ongoing.
“It is very exciting,” said director Richard Webster who runs operations with his co-director brother Michael.
“The development will bring together all the different parts of the business, from chocolate making to packaging, warehouse storage, despatch and office space.
“Everything will be under one roof which is great and it will give us the space to expand.
“It is also ideally situated to the road network for distribution so we will be able to supply last minute deliveries when required.
“We want to become one of the best known quality chocolate brands in the UK.”
Currently, Friars, which celebrates its centenary next year, rents space at the former Keswick Motor Museum for packing and another site at Dovenby, near Cockermouth, is involved in despatch of online orders across the UK.
Seven chocolatiers are among the staff involved in chocolate making but Richard said that manufacturing had been limited due to lack of space.
He said: “The new factory gives us the capacity to add to production.
“We are planning to buy new machinery to create another production line. Temperature control is very important and the new space has been created with that in mind.
“The weather has been kind so the building work has gone pretty well with minimal delays so far.
“The actual move will be complicated as we will be continuing operations at the same time, but we are looking forward to this next phase.”
Friars’ shops in Keswick and Ambleside will continue to operate in their town centre locations as usual.
The move follows a successful Christmas for the family firm which enjoyed a 35% increase in sales over the festive period. Every year Friars recruits seasonal staff to handle deliveries of fine chocolates in a vast array of flavours and styles.
The company dates back to 1927 when a brother of Richard and Michael’s grandmother, William Long, established the Keswick shop as a café which also sold confectionery. Later, sweets became the focus of the business and the company has remained in the family with Richard and Michael’s grandparents and their parents, John and Gina, running operations over the years before they took over the reins.
The brothers are constantly on the lookout for new flavours and trends and already thoughts are turning to next Christmas.
Online sales have grown considerably since they started in 2010, and in 2019, the company worked with a supplier to launch one of the first vegan chocolate brands, Kakoa.
Richard added: “We wanted to ensure that if you ate some you wouldn’t be able to distinguish it from an ordinary chocolate. We were one of the first to create vegan chocolate, and others have followed but I think ours is exceptional. It took us a lot of time to develop but it has done very well.”
