Harlech Foodservice achieves 20% rise in sales in six months

Harlech Foodservice’s managing director Mark Lawton.

Harlech Foodservice has achieved a 20% surge in sales to £30 million in six months.

The Criccieth-based family firm, which also has sites in Chester, Carmarthen, Aberbargoed and Telford, says its rapid expansion over the past five years has transformed the business into a major UK player.

Harlech has seen sales rocket after opening new depots in South Wales and Shropshire, driving fresh growth across North Wales, the North West and the West Midlands. Since April 2025, it has seen business in South Wales and the West Midlands rise by 68%, with 117 new customers added.

In the North West, across Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, 390 new accounts have been opened, with sales up 46%.

In its North Wales heartland, where it has been trading since 1972, it has added 125 new customers since the beginning of April and increased sales by 8%.

Harlech came out of the Covid pandemic with 120 staff at Criccieth and Chester, and in the last four years has seen that number grow to almost 300 while opening three new sites.

Managing director Mark Lawton, who joined the company in 2016, said: “I am very proud to be part of the team that has been involved in the expansion, and our latest half-yearly results show a clear upwards trajectory in Harlech’s fortunes.

“We needed to expand to become a truly year-round business instead of relying solely on the highly seasonal tourism and hospitality industry.

“We have successfully moved into the public sector, into education and healthcare in particular, so that now we supply all six local education authorities in North Wales as well as hospitals across Wales.

“We are also winning contracts and customers across the border in the North West of England, the West Midlands and in South Wales but at the same time we haven’t forgotten our roots, and hospitality and tourism are still a vital part of the mix.”

He added: “Our marketing is focused on our independent customer base and we have been listening to their feedback because we know how hard it is to run a business in the tourism and hospitality sector.

“We want to ensure that we continue to meet their needs because we will never forget that they are the backbone of our business.”

To help its customers, the wholesaler introduced the My Harlech app, which is designed to make ordering easier. It has also pushed back its deadlines so that orders made after service are delivered the next day.

Harlech last year announced a three-year £6 million expansion plan, which has already created over 100 new jobs. It offers around 5,000 product lines and runs a fleet of 90 vehicles. Journeys are planned to cut mileage and the vehicles are equipped with refrigeration systems using a more advanced and eco-friendly coolant.

Those changes have helped Harlech win a Welsh Government Green Dragon award for the past seven years and the firm is on track to reach net zero by 2050, a commitment that has also been a key factor in winning a number of public sector contracts.

Lawton added: “As a major employer, we’re proud that our staff, suppliers and customers put money straight back into the local economy where we have our depots.

“What our customers spend with us supports nearby businesses, suppliers and venues – creating a genuine circular economy that helps Wales and borders prosper.

“We believe in being a part of the communities where we operate and in supporting those areas and contributing to good causes in those areas, to local organisations and to schools and sports clubs.”

Harlech Foodservice was founded in the town of Harlech in 1972 by Colin and Gill Foskett to supply the holiday market and now 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.