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Natures Way

Natures Way Foods (NWF) is a leader in fresh produce manufacturing, supplying prepared bagged salads and fruit products to major retail and food service companies.  
 
In 1994 Langmead Farms, their sister company and supplier of whole-head lettuce, was approached by Tescos who asked if they would consider supplying ready-to-eat salads. The Langmeads took on the challenge and so NWF was built. 
 
Building on their success with bagged salads, NWF looked to other prepared produce opportunities and with the healthy eating and convenience market growing rapidly, prepared fruit became the next venture. Within a year NWF opened its fruit factory and in 2006 launched its first prepared fruit range into Morrisons.
 
NWF has achieved success by ensuring outstanding product quality and a commitment to 100% customer satisfaction. This has been facilitated through a combination of a dedicated workforce, using the highest quality raw material and ensuring the processing facilities are amongst the most technologically advanced in the world. Innovation with growers and in packaging technology has led to further opportunities to increase growth.
 
Today the business packs over 30 different types of leaf and a wide variety of fruit which are sourced from over 38 different countries. There are approximately 450 employees based across both sites.

For more information on the company visit www.natureswayfoods.co.uk
 
Quality and Safety
 
Natures Way Foods have a clear view of the importance of quality and safety
The quality of our product, safety of our people and process, those who work in our supply base and the impact we have as a business is something we commit to managing and challenging ourselves to improve. Below are details of standards and processes we use to do this.
 
SAI Global/EFSIS
EFSIS (European Food Standards Inspection Service) is the third party independent inspection and certification service, providing retailers, manufacturers, farmers and caterers, throughout the world, with expert inspection and certification of their operations to ensure only the highest standards are maintained. Through annual audit we are pleased to have the higher level standard at each of our sites.
 
SEDEX
Sedex (supplier ethical data exchange) is a secure, web-based system for companies to maintain data on labour standards at production sites and make it available to companies with which they are in a trading relationship, in order to drive and demonstrate improvements.
Sedex makes it easier for companies to provide information on labour standards in the supply chain, to reduce duplication and to focus attention and resources on driving improvements.
We use Sedex to manage the labour standards in our supply chain.
 
ISO14001
ISO14001 is an environmental standard. Natures Way Foods were the first produce company in the UK to achieve the standard and it has been through continued compliance with our environmental policy and continuously challenging our environmental standards that we have continued to achieve the standard – audited on a regular basis by the British Standards Institute.
 
INVESTORS IN PEOPLE
Investors in People (IiP) is a standard developed between leading businesses and the
national organisations to help organisations to improve performance and realise objectives
through the management and development of people. Through an in depth audit and
interviewing staff at all levels of the business the approved auditor makes a determination
on achieving the standard and areas for improvement.
 
BUSINESS COMMITMENT
 
Our core purpose: To deliver excellence to our customers through our passion, commitment and a world class approach in all we do.
 
Our values:
 
Always delighting our customers:
● Deliver everything we promise
● Right first time, every time
● Outstanding quality, service, innovation
and safety
● Personally responsible, personally accountable
A brilliant place to work:
● One Team working together
● Passionate, energetic and rewarding
● Open, honest and committed
● Well informed with everything needed to
do a great job
Better every day:
● Challenging, changing and fast
● Continually developing our people and
processes
● Smart simple solutions
● Great communication
Proud of how we do business:
● Safe Behaviour
● Openness
● Fairness
● Responsibility and recognition
● Respect for others
 
COMMUNITY PLAN
NWF believe in adding value to the community, with particular focus on healthy living (Food and Sport), children/schools, employees and the environment. The business wants to build a positive awareness of who and what NWF is and does. They want to be a good neighbour through a positive involvement and interaction which involves everyone – the personal face of Natures Way Foods
 
Britain’s Top 2010 Employers – Category Winner
 
The CRF Institute commissions independent research to evaluate participating organisations. Companies are judged on their capabilities in the areas of Training and Development, Career Development, Working Conditions, Pay & Benefits and Company Culture.
 
The companies selected for this award are deemed to be among the top employers in the country, using best HR practice to create the best working conditions for their employees.
 
Company Culture:
 
“Our culture and values have served Natures Way Foods well through the recession“, says CEO Susan Barratt. “Our focus on always delighting our customers, being a brilliant place to work, and getting better every day have created, and continue to create, opportunities for growth”.
 
 
NWF prepares fresh produce with a short shelf life and deals with demanding food retailers. That drives the energy and pace of the business, requiring commitment and fast decision making. “It means that our culture is about energy, enthusiasm, and a passion to get the job done,” says Clare Roberts, HR Director. “Because timelines are so tight, management shows strong leadership, and there’s a lot of teamwork, openness and communication.”
 
There’s also a side that’s about enjoyment. “When we recruit we look for people who are characters, enjoy working hard, but also like to have fun” says Roberts. This is fairly evident from the professional yet friendly greeting in reception that visitors often comment upon.
There’s a strong sense of family and employees socialise together outside work. Many people have grown up with the business and 25% live in the village of Selsey, making the company very much part of the community.
 
There’s a huge emphasis on the relationship with the customer and this heavily influences the culture. NWF actively encourages customer visits at all staff levels – not just sales. NWF really does want to ‘wow’ its customers on service, quality, delivery and pride. It was once short of a particular raw material in Europe for a customer and so jetted the ingredients in from the US at great cost to itself.
 
Part-time working, working from home (for certain roles) and a thoughtful factory shift system are designed to be as family friendly and flexible as possible to accommodate work-life balance issues.

“

I measure the success of my relationship with Silver Stone by their ability to meet my needs. They have taken the time to build a rapport and to really understand the business. They listen, deliver against promises, and provide quality advice and the very best customer care. Most importantly they find the right people quickly and effectively. Silver Stone have become true stakeholders in the business and I would not hesitate to recommend them.

”
Jane Franks, HR Director