Harlech Foodservice on course for record revenue

Gwynedd-based food and drink wholesaler Harlech Foodservice has increased turnover by 25% in the past year after opening depots in Caerphilly and Telford to support growing demand in South Wales, the North West and West Midlands.

The family-run business is on course to achieve record sales of £75m following a rapid expansion across Wales and England, having grown from a Covid-hit £18m in 2021.

Managing director Mark Lawton estimated the company’s revenue could reach up to £80m and has therefore increased its targets to £120m by 2029.

“We’ve transformed the business from one that relied on seasonal tourism into a year-round operation by expanding into the public sector, particularly education and healthcare,” he said. In recent years this includes more than £2m in school food contracts and a three-year contract to serve Wales’s 11,000 daily hospital patients.

The wholesaler has a focus on supporting Welsh products and suppliers, with Lawton adding: “That means we are now putting products like Llaeth y Llan yoghurt, Radnor Springs mineral waters, Edwards the Welsh Butcher sausages and Snowdonia cheese onto school dinner tables not just across Wales but in the North West of England and border counties of England.

“That’s helped us increase our sales of Llaeth y Llan products by 59%, Radnor Springs by 55% and Edwards the Welsh Butcher by 72% so we’re not just improving our performance, we’re boosting other Welsh businesses too.”

The Food Wholesaler of the Year 2025 at The Caterer’s Supplier Awards is also planning a £3.5m expansion of its headquarters in Llanystumdwy near Cricieth, including new warehousing, freezer facilities and more delivery vehicles.

As a result, its workforce is expected to rise from 320 to 370 over the next few years.

Harlech operations director Ian Evans said: “We need more capacity here but from putting shovels in the ground here it will take 12 to 18 months to have the new warehousing up and running.

“That would mean an investment of £2m in new buildings and a further £1.5m in new delivery vehicles and ideally we would need help from government to achieve that.”

The business was founded in Harlech in 1972 by Colin and Gill Foskett to supply the holiday market, and its rapid expansion in recent years has seen it deliver to restaurants, pubs, schools and hospitals across Wales and into England.

The founders’ three children, Jonathan, Andrew and Laura, took over the reins from their parents and still sit on the board while a third generation of the family are making their way in the firm.

In 2024, Harlech acquired rival Celtic Foodservices, based in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire.