Background
Cradoc's Savoury Biscuits are based in the heart of the Brecon Beacons. Fed up with the boring crackers that were on offer for pairing with cheese, mother and daughter duo Allie and Ella Thomas decided to establish the company in 2008. Cradoc’s Savoury Biscuits combine fresh vegetables, herbs and spices to create a colourful range of original flavours which includes beetroot and garlic and leek and Caerphilly cheese.
Having relocated to new larger manufacturing premises in 2019 and gained a listing with food wholesaler CH&CO Group, Cradoc’s set out to achieve SALSA certification to deliver further business growth. This led to the company approaching ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre for funded support through Project HELIX.
Support from ZERO2FIVE
A ZERO2FIVE food technologist carried out a two day diagnostic with the company, looking at how they were performing against each requirement of SALSA Standard Issue 5 such as pre-requisite controls, HACCP, management systems, documentation and premises.
The company were provided with a gap analysis and details of the actions that needed to be taken before they were able to achieve SALSA certification. Thankfully, the company already had a robust HACCP system in place which formed the basis for compliance. This had been developed with support from ZERO2FIVE on a previous project.
Allie Thomas owner of Cradoc’s said:
“Our ZERO2FIVE mentor Jackie Evans became part of our team. As a food technologist she has all the knowledge and ability to work with companies beginning their journey or upgrading it. Thanks to her support we were able to create a secure and reliable system.”
Benefits of the support
As a result of the support, Cradoc’s successfully gained SALSA certification in September 2019, supporting the business’s aim of securing new retail and food service channels, business growth and more employment opportunities within the company.
Allie Thomas said:
“Receiving this certification is excellent news as we will now be able to satisfy major food suppliers like Castell Howell, CH&CO, BaxterStorey and Elior, who serve some of the largest food consumers in the UK. We very much look forward to the difference this will make to our distribution.”
ZERO2FIVE has continued to support Cradoc’s with internal audits as part of their SALSA certification maintenance. Cradoc’s had their most recent SALSA audit in March 2021 and successfully passed with no non-conformances.
Cradoc’s have also recently recruited a technical affiliate through the Project HELIX Knowledge Transfer Programme. This programme embeds affiliates in Welsh food and drink manufacturers with the support and guidance of the staff at ZERO2FIVE. The technical affiliate will focus on maintaining the company’s SALSA quality management system as well as the technical aspects of new product development including specifications, factory documentation and nutritional labelling. Having a dedicated member of technical staff will free up additional resource to focus on innovation and business growth.
